Mind Games
by wondertross
Summary: *Complete!* Not sure on ending, let me know, review! BY catching one of her friends, will an enemy finally capture max? Just read, huh?
1. Default Chapter

Title:  
Disclaimer: Not mine, oh but I wish they were.  
Author's note: Okay, I am an official fanfic junkie and have written pieces in many a genre, though not all posted under this name, ha, so I figured I'd give Dark Angel a shot. Be kind please. Note: Since I do have several storied running at once, it may take me a while to update, though I always do. it just kind of depends on which story my muse likes best at the moment.  
  
~*~  
  
"Seven ball, side pocket," a young man said quietly. His eyes were locked in on the seven, the last shot he had before going after the elusive eight. She had one-upped him the last time they'd played, and that was definitely not his idea of a good time. This was payback.  
  
He had lined up the shot perfectly; this was cake. He drew back on the cue a few times, feeling the smooth wood slide between his fingers. He drew back his hand one more time thinking, 'Prepare to lose,' when someone bumped into shoulder. The cue went askew, hitting the cue ball awkwardly and sending it careening into the striped 14 on the opposite end of the table. He swore beneath his breath and turned to face his distraction, holding the cue in front of him in both hands and leaning back against the table. "Thanks."  
  
"Huh? Oh, my shot huh?" Her eyes flew across the room one more time, centering in on two people at a table, before reverting back to the object at hand. She sank the 14 easily and sized up the 8. "Far corner pocket," she muttered. The 8 ball dropped in as if drawn to the pocket. Immediately thereafter, she started to rack the table, though never once did her eyes leave the table in the corner of the room.   
  
"Loser's break," she reminded him. He complied with a grunt. It wasn't even the losing that bothered him so much, though that was certainly no great thrill, but the fact that she could be so entirely nonchalant about winning, like it was a given.   
  
"I wouldn't have lost if YOU were paying attention," he grumbled. He broke, perhaps a little harder than he had intended, and the balls whizzed around the table as if in panic. The 3 and the five dropped in pockets. "You're gonna hurt your neck doin that," he informed her.  
  
"What?"  
  
"They've been at that table for the last hour and a half Max. Neither one has yet to make a move out of their seats. They ain't goin anywhere. They're boring, remember?"  
  
Max pursed her lips as she glared. "Logan," she drew out the name, "is not boring."  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Right, I forgot. Logan's a real party guy."  
  
"It's not like you even know him Alec. Two of you aren't exactly on the same wavelength."  
  
"Exactly. There's a big difference between the two of us, I get that. Know what it is? Oh, yeah. I've got a life, he doesn't. He's talking with Asha Max. They're probably just working. God knows Logan can't go without trying to save the planet or some other hapless cause for two minutes." He set a hand on her shoulder, which Max quickly and gingerly removed.  
  
"Maybe. But does she have to sit so close?"  
  
Alec held his hands out as if to strangle her. "What are you twelve?"  
  
Max apparently hadn't heard him, or was ignoring him. The latter choice was probably correct. She propped herself onto her toes to peer over the small crowd of people that had blocked her field of view. "I can't see. Maybe I should go over there." Alec let his head drop.  
  
"You're obsessed you know that? Obsessed."  
  
"I'm not obsessed."  
  
"Whatever." He sighed, lifting his head slightly. He waved at her with one arm. "Go. Go if you're that worried about it. I can play pool by myself." Alec gazed at a few tiny, scantily clad clubbers. His eyebrows shot up as he spotted a particularly attractive brunette a few yards away. She was staring straight at him, and invited him over with a small incline of her head. "Or perhaps have some other entertainment." Suddenly he realized Max was looking back at him and chuckling. "What?"  
  
"It looks pretty serious Alec." She pointed at him. "You've been chalked. I don't think the newest 'hot chic' would approve." She jerked her thumb in the direction of the brunette.  
  
He started and a hand flew to his face. Drawing his fingers over his chin he realized there was a thick line of chalk running up his cheek. "Damn it. Oh shut up you wise ass."  
  
Max merely shrugged. "Better a wise ass than a dumb ass. Later." She turned and was almost immediately swallowed up by the masses on the dance floor.  
  
Alec passed off his stick to a passerby and popped his neck. Conjuring what he thought to be a charming smile, he headed off for the table with the brunette. She grinned, running her tongue seductively over her lips. This night was really starting to look up.  
  
--  
  
2 hours later......  
  
The door flew open with a bang. Alec fumbled blindly for his keys with his left hand as he backed through the doorway. At that moment his right hand was busy trying to strip away the brunettes leather jacket. He was trying to do all this with her arms around his neck as they kissed. He finally pulled them loose and the two people nearly fell through the doorway.  
  
The girl kicked the door shut behind them. She started to nibble on his neck whilst he removed his jacket. "You, are a very cool chic," he managed to get out between breaths. She pulled away, grinned, and yanked his shirt off over his head.  
  
He'd ambled over to her at Crash a few hours earlier. "I'm..." he's started to introduce himself when she suddenly held up her hand.  
  
"I don't care who you are. No names. See, I have a problem." Alec raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. "See, whenever I sleep with a guy he always seems to fall in love with me. But I do like to play around. See my dilemma?"  
  
It took him a few moments before he could gather his jaw off the floor. Then he grinned. "So then how bout a little guilt free fun?" A few beers, a little making out and they'd ended up back at his apartment, in nearly record time too.  
  
Now this girl was half naked, standing in his apartment and he didn't even know her name. He considered it quickly, and decided that that was alright by him. The girl's fingers wandered down over his chest. She kissed him again, pulling on his bottom lip with her teeth. "You're the one," she breathed, moving to kiss him again, but Alec stopped her.  
  
He took her chin in his hands. His eyes narrowed. "What do you mean the one?"  
  
"I've been watching," she murmured. "Waiting. I've been watching for weeks. You're the one."  
  
"The one what?" He asked a little more loudly, irritation seeping into his voice.  
  
Her left hand ran over his shoulder and around to the back of his neck. The Bar Code tattoo. He shuddered involuntarily and removed the offending appendage. The girl just smiled and whispered in his ear. "You're the one he wants."   
  
Suddenly there was pain, searing and hot in his side. She stepped quickly away, the now empty syringe dangling loosely in her fingers. Alec's hand pressed onto his side as the burning sensation meandered up his back. He stepped after her and she retreated behind his couch. "What did you do?" She didn't answer.  
  
He kept coming, but with each step his legs felt heavier. His eyes went fuzzy and the room began to spin. The door behind him splintered and cracked. Men dressed in black yielding guns poured into the room. Something slammed into his chin and he crashed onto the floor. Alec forced himself to focus on his outstretched hand. He couldn't move it. A pair of black army boots came into his vision, then everything went black.  
  
End part one  
  
Good, horrible? Continue, stop? Feedback! PLease 


	2. 2

Chapter 2:  
Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own them.  
Author's Note: Okay, I may be new to the whole Dark Angel thing, but it seems like there's a bit of a rivalry between the M/L and M/A shippers. Just to give you all the heads up, I don't know what this is going to turn out to be yet. But ah my dear friend, thy name is sexual tension. I like Alec, and the dynamic he brings into these fics, because otherwise, in all honesty the unrequited love thing between Max and Logan would make me sick after a while. I don't see Max falling for Alec, at least not yet, but love and lust are two entirely different things. I think anyone who can't see the potential for story lines between the 3 of them ( and possibly even Asha) is walking blind with a bag over their head. LOL. That's it, I'm done. Think of this fic as Switzerland, it's neutral, at least for the time being.   
  
~*~  
  
Max walked into Jampony with a scowl imbedded upon her features. She hadn't been able to sleep much the night before. Max just kept seeing Ahsa's smiling, laughing face at the bar, and then seeing Asha's hand casually slip over the top of Logan's. And the worse thing was, he hadn't pulled away, at least not until he saw Max. A deep red flush had streaked up his neck and over his face, and suddenly both hands were buried in his lap. Even Asha had the good grace to blush. She left a few minutes after that, mumbling something about having to be up early the next day.  
  
Last night....  
  
Logan's eyes flicked nervously between Max and the half empty mug of beer left on the table. He swiped at a bead of condensation rolling off the glass with his thumb. It was Max who finally broke the silent stalemate. "You and Asha talking about work?" Okay, so it wasn't exactly subtle, but at that moment she didn't much care. Then she scooted closer and lowered her voice, "New job?" All he had to do was say 'yes'. Yes was all that Max wanted.  
  
"Maybe. Nothing is set in stone yet, but we have some feelers out. Word is out about a couple of potential forced labor factories springing up on the edge of sector nine and possibly some politicians taking bribes in exchange for turning a blind eye to the fact that the labor comes in the form of little kids. Nothing, you know, weird about it."  
  
Max smiled. "Politicians may turn a blind eye, but I know you won't. Need my help all you gotta do is ask."  
  
"I just might have to take you up on that offer. So," he said, motioning with his chin to the pool table, "who won?"  
  
"I kicked his ass," she grinned.  
  
"Figured.  
--  
  
They'd stayed for a while, talking, though both chose to ignore the scene Max had borne witness to. Max could have stayed all night, just talking, talking up the distance between them, as if words could close the gap between them. Logan had had to leave at near two in the morning and Max had watched him go. She would have killed to walk out with him, holding his hand, or doing some other ridiculous act of coupledom.   
  
Max barely stifled an irritated growl as she yanked open her locker, all thoughts of being quiet having fled her mind. It was early and she wasn't scheduled to work, but if Normal spotted her there, she'd probably have a hard time explaining that to him. Normal seemed to have no comprehension of the words, 'day off.' Original Cindy was waiting outside, unwilling to brave being caught by Normal.  
  
Her hand clenched involuntarily around the metal frame of the locker. She'd almost touched him. She hadn't been thinking and the action was inadvertent, reaching out to stop him from leaving, but it could have killed him all the same. Luckily Logan had snatched his hand away in time. Max cursed herself, and the virus, and the things that had brought her there that morning.   
  
Max found what she was looking for in less than a minute, the black mesh gloves sitting right where she'd left them. Her hand hovered over the pair and her teeth ground on her lower lip. She hated those gloves. It was such a stupid thing, hating gloves, but she did. She only used to wear them making deliveries, or cruising around on her motorcycle, but not anymore. Now she took those damned gloves everywhere, just in case HE called. Those stupid gloves reminded her of everything she couldn't have, couldn't touch.  
  
Max shook her head slightly, letting out a sigh. 'This is ridiculous,' she scolded herself. 'They're just gloves. It's not the gloves keeping me and Logan apart.' "No, it's just this God damned virus in my God damned blood that I have to be careful of every God damned day!" She grabbed the pieces of apparel and slammed the locker door shut, seemingly unaware of the fact that she had just screamed out the last words in the middle of Jam Pony. 'Oh Alec's right, I'm obsessing.'  
  
She turned, and nearly walked straight into Normal. How in the world could she have missed his approach? Clunky, irritating, everyday Normal had just snuck up on her. She must really be out of it. "Well you don't look sick," he said simply.  
  
"Excuse me?" Max asked. 'God, did I just say all that out loud?'  
  
"I said you don't look sick. But if you are stay away from me okay?"  
  
Max nodded in all seriousness. "Absolutely. In fact, I'll leave right now." She couched for effect.  
  
"Wait a second. Here." He thrust a package at her, keeping a good arm's length away from her. "Your friend Alec was supposed to deliver this."  
  
Composed once again, Max offered a more typical, flippant response. "Three things. One, he's not my friend. Two, get him to deliver it. And three, may I just add the most important of all, I'm NOT WORKING TODAY." She drew out each word.  
  
"That's not my problem. Alec ditched out of delivering this last night, but he said he'd either be back early this morning or that he'd have you cover. So here," he pushed the package at her again, "cover."  
  
"I never agreed to this!" She called at his receding back.   
  
"You've got a problem, go talk to him. I don't want to hear it. Oh yeah, and when you do see him, tell him if he's not in by noon tomorrow, he should just forget about coming back at all!" Max growled again and turned on her heel, striding for the door.  
  
"What's up boo?" OC asked when she saw Max, looking for all the world like she might rip someone's head off, come stalking out the door.  
  
"Alec," she responded. There was no further explanation required; the name itself was enough. Cindy thought she heard Max mutter something about oversexed assholes, but she couldn't be entirely sure. Max set the package down on the seat of her motorcycle and whipped out her cell, quickly dialing Alec's number. "He's not answering. Unbelievable. I swear, having him hanging around is like having a dog. I don't even like dogs. Unless you count Joshua anyway."  
  
"What, has he been humping all the furniture again?"  
  
Max couldn't help herself, she chuckled. "Something like that. He did take off with some random brunette he met last night at Crash. He probably just forgot, or," she amended thoughtfully, "he can't get her to leave."  
  
"The boy does have sex on the brain, I'll give you that."  
  
"Not like it matters. He's in for a world of serious hurt either way. You comin?" She straddled the bike and motioned for Cindy to climb on with a jerk of her head. Cindy hopped on. Seeing Max and Alec going at it was always entertaining. And she wasn't about to miss this.  
  
--  
  
It was cold. That was the first thought that entered his mind. Soon other thoughts began to seep in as well. It was cold, the ground was rough, and he was lying on it face down. Alec's eyes slowly opened, and he blinked to clear his vision.  
  
The room was empty, completely and utterly devoid of any fixture he could see. He managed to shift his head a little. No wait, there was the toilet, tucked away in one corner of the little room like it was trying to hide.   
  
The floor was concrete, the walls brick, and there were no windows. The only illumination in the room came from above, in the form of a flickering light. Alec couldn't really move, though the mild tingling sensation in his fingertips told him that wouldn't last for much longer. For a long moment he wondered why it was warm right underneath his chin, but then he realized that his mouth was hanging open and he was drooling. He tried to close it, but his muscles refused the order.   
  
He found being unable to move entirely unnerving. Not only were his motor skills impaired, but the only things he could seem to hear were a loud buzzing in his ears and the beating of his own heart. Alec closed his eyes and tried to remember exactly what had happened. He remembered the girl all right, and the people breaking into his place, but after that everything was a bit of a blur.  
  
He'd woken up once before, if only briefly. He'd been lying flat out on his back and there had been lots of people milling around, their voices melding together and becoming indistinguishable. Someone had been touching his neck, though he wasn't quite sure why. Bright lights too, lights that irritated his eyes so that he'd had to turn away. He'd turned just in time to see someone inject something else into his arm and then the blackness closed over him again.  
  
Alec opened his eyes. That was all there was, all he remembered. He focused on his outstretched hand. His fingers twitched. Sure, so it wasn't all out movement yet, but there was definite improvement. Soon he might even be able to close his damn mouth. Lying motionless left him little else to do but think, so that's exactly what he did. Why exactly had he been brought here? What did they want from him? Then, he reasoned, the better questions were: where was here, and who were they? And to top it all off, how could he get out?  
  
--  
  
Max took the stairs winding up to Alec's apartment two at a time. Her expression bordered on livid. Cindy trotted to keep up with her friend as they strode down the dingy hallway of the apartment building. The paint was peeling and water dripped from exposed pipes overhead.   
  
One of the little brass numbers hung askew off the door. Max raised a fist in preparation for banging on the door, and busting it in if need be. Then she noticed that there was no need. The door hung slightly open, the wood around the lock splintered and cracked. Max shooed OC back with a silent wave of her hand, and cautiously pushed the door open. Her muscles tensed. She was ready for anything.  
  
The apartment was empty. It was completely silent but for the irritating buzz of one television set. It was also a complete disaster area. The couch had been overturned, its cushions strewn across the floor. The cabinets in the little kitchen hung off their hinges. Max made her way into the bedroom. All of Alec's clothes had been rummaged through, the drawers removed from his cabinets. The sheets had been ripped off the bed and the mattress was slit down the middle.  
  
Max went back into the main room and pulled out her cell phone once again. Cindy was standing just inside the doorway, her eyes wide as she took in the scene. "Come on Alec, answer your damned phone," she said as she dialed the last numbers. The answering ring from inside the room made them both jump. OC picked up Alec's leather jacket from where it had been crumpled near the couch and pulled out his phone.   
  
"Hey boo, come check this out," OC looked a little squeamish, pointing at a spot on the floor.   
  
Max crouched beside the tiny, congealed pool of blood. She lightly touched her fingers in it and brought it to her nose. "Alec," she confirmed. "I swear, if that dumbass managed to get himself killed...." The threat died away. What if he really was dead?  
  
A soft sound stopped Max from analyzing the thought further. Her head snapped around in the direction of the closet. She crossed the room quickly, moving lightly on the balls of her feet. OC stood near the door, ready to bolt if necessary. Max pulled the closet door nearly of its hinges. There, sitting in the far corner of the closet was a figure. Her knees were drawn to her chest and she was rocking slowly back and forth. She stopped a few seconds after the door opened and looked up at Max with accusing eyes. Her face was bruised. it was Alec's brunette from the night before. So if she was here, where was Alec?  
  
End Part 2  
This is actually coming along quite well, I think. Please, I crave reviews. Constructive criticism is fine but remember, this is Switzerland. Thanks for reading. 


	3. 3

Chapter 3:  
  
Author's Note: Okay, so this was rather slow to come out. Like I said, I have a few stories running at once. But the big hint? Generally the more reviews I get, the more inspired I become with a story. (winks)  
  
Disclaimer: No, I don't own them. Didn't we cover this already?  
  
Archive: Sure, just let me know where.  
  
Rating: R, for the fact that I plan to let Alec run at the mouth a bit, and the torturous things I have planned for our two X-5 friends.  
  
~*~  
  
The girl in the closet shrank farther back into the corner once Max began to speak. "Where's Alec?"  
  
Her voice quaked violently with her response. "Who?"  
  
Max kept firing off questions, hoping for an answer to at least one. "What happened here?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"Me?"  
  
Max wanted to slap her. "Do you always answer questions with a question? And stupid questions at that. Now, where's Alec?"  
  
The girl's shaking subsided till only her fingers and chin were visibly trembling. "I don't know who you're talking about," she responded with an almost child-like stubbornness.  
  
Mac exchanged a glance with Cindy and sighed. If it was anybody but Alec..... "Alec. Alec the guy you left Crash with last night. Alec, the guy in whose closet you are currently sitting. That guy. Remember him?"  
  
The girl suddenly sniffed and looked right at Max. Dark streaks of running Mascara stained her cheeks and Max finally got a good look at the large bruise the girl sported on one cheek. "Was that his name? We didn't really get into personal details."  
  
Personal details? Since when is someone's first name, the name of a person you're about to sleep with no less, a deep, dark secret? Max wondered briefly.  
  
"Well, now that we have that little nugget of information," OC interjected, "how bout lettin us in on who you are?"  
  
Swiping a strand of dark brown hair from her face, the smaller girl moved slowly to her feet. "Right, right. My name's Jillian, Jillian Myer. And you are?"  
  
"Friends of Alec," Max told her gruffly. They'd been talking for nearly three minutes now, and had yet to get to any pertinent information, like what the hell had gone down here. "What happened?"  
  
Jillian touched the bruise on her face and winced. "I'm not completely sure. It all happened so fast. I mean, we were in here and God, he was all over me. I mean, it was like, primal or something. His hands, and his mouth...." She giggled lightly and started to stare off into space.  
  
Max held up her hands. "Enough, please, no more details about.......ugh.... that. I mean what happened after."  
  
Jillian laughed again. Max suppressed the urge to gag. "Oh no, we didn't, I mean, we didn't get that far. Too bad though....." she trailed off again.  
  
Max sighed and pressed her fingers to her temples. This was getting them nowhere. She reached out and grabbed onto Jillian's shoulders. The girl writhed slightly beneath the grip. "Jillian. Focus. Please, just, focus."  
  
"Hmmm? Oh yeah, sorry. Anyway, we were just minding our own business when suddenly the door goes flying open and there are these guys all dressed in black, you know, and holding guns." She clutched a hand to her chest, seemingly unaware that the only thing she was wearing at present was a bra. "I was so scared, completely freaked out you know? I thought I was a goner, but they kinda ignored me and went after him."  
  
Jillian paused, presumably to collect her meager thoughts. Max waited impatiently. This was almost physically painful. "It was weird though. Alec, his name was Alec right?" Max just nodded while OC rolled her eyes. "Anyways, Alec kinda tensed up, but it wasn't like scared, more like he was sizing them up. Put up a good fight too, till one of em got him with a syringe. The another one clocked him over the head with his gun. They dragged him out, and that's when they hit me. Next thing I remember is waking up on the ground and hearing someone outside. I figured they might have come back, so I hid in the closet. Was that helpful?"  
  
"Yeah," Max grumbled. She grabbed Jillian's arm. "We gotta get you out of here though. Just in case they come back. Head downstairs, get out of this sector, and don't look back."  
  
"Wait, what do you mean come back? Why would they come back? You can't just leave me to fend for myself! What will I do?"  
  
She steered Jillian toward the apartment door. "Never mind, I got a place you can hide out a couple of days. Let's just go." They were at the threshold when Max caught sight of an envelope carefully stood up against one of the TV's. Handing Jillian off to Cindy, she went back. the number 452 was written across it in stark black lettering. She snatched it from it's perch and stuffed it inside her pocket, then trotted out the door.  
  
--  
  
How long had he been here, in this tiny, bare little room? How long had he been out? Alec couldn't even guess. The face of his wristwatch was mangled almost beyond recognition. Whatever drugs were in his system were finally starting to wear off, as he first regained control over his hand, then his arms, then his feet. His entire body felt stiff and heavy though, even as he drew his knees under himself in an effort to stand.  
  
He was woozy to be sure, but up all the same, standing on his own two feet. A dull ache in his head prompted him to reach up with one hand and examine the nearly healed wound he'd sustained when attacked in his apartment. Senses still dulled, he could do little more than make a rudimentary assessment of his health by running his hands over his body. He assured himself that everything remained in basic working order. There was however, an obtrusive annoyance at his throat. His fingers crept up to examine the stiff plastic collar encircling his neck. His hand tightened around it and he was about to rip it off when a loud, disembodied voice stopped him.  
  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," it boomed, filling up the nearly vacant cell.  
  
Alec's eyes flicked over the walls, searching for a microphone or camera. "And why the hell shouldn't I?" He demanded into empty space, at the same time releasing the band from his grasp.  
  
"That collar can only be taken off using an electronic key. Try to remove it by force, and I assure you that your head will not remain long attached to your body. Same thing happens if you attempt an escape. Understood?"  
  
His hands fell to his sides. "Sure."  
  
The heavy metal door squeaked behind him and Alec turned to look. A small slot had opened in the steel and he could see two men waiting outside through the tiny window. "Now, move to the door, place your hands behind your back and allow the men outside to restrain you. Then kneel facing away from the door if you please."  
  
Alec guffawed, "Yeah right. Screw you asshole!"  
  
"I assure you this can be made very easy, or very hard. It is your choice."  
  
Alec grinned, that cocky, you-can't-touch-me-I'm-golden, self-assured smile he wore so often. "I don't know. I've always found the hard way much more, entertaining." There was no response from the bodiless voice, just the sound of the door being slid open.  
  
There were five men though, not two as Alec had first assumed. Two stationed themselves near the doorway, holding two automatic weapons authoritatively in their hands. The other three approached carefully. He tensed, hands immediately coming up in front of him and eyes passing between the three men. Even if he was going to go down, he was going to be sure that these men were in a world of hurt before it was over.  
  
The first came at him from the left, and Alec wheeled, smashing a fist into his nose. The feeling of bone crunching beneath his knuckles prompted a small, self-congratulatory grin. It soon slipped from his face however, when he realized that the man was still coming, and was unfazed by the blow. The man hadn't felt it.  
  
"Ah shit."  
  
Blood rushing down his chin, the goon grabbed Alec's arm, while the second man grabbed the other. A third cane at him from the front, a pair of handcuffs dangling from his fingertips. With a deep growl, he planted a foot solidly in the man's chest and sent him flying across the room. Hitting the wall with an audible thud, he stood, brushed himself off and came again, the blank expression never leaving his visage.  
  
Alec fought valiantly against the restraining force, but to no avail. The blows he did manage to land were little more than an annoyance. The third man, the one Alec had sent reeling into the wall, smiled grimly, drawing a small tazer from the breast pocket of his jacket. He planted it firmly in the bare flesh of his side. Alec felt the jolt shoot through his side and up his back, the muscles in his side twitching of their own volition. A sharp cry slipped involuntarily past his lips.  
  
Something slammed into the back of his knees. He hit the concrete floor hard on his knees before the men holding his arms smashed the rest of him onto the hard stone. The rough flooring scraped his cheek and scratched his chest. They wrestled his arms behind his back, hitting him once more with the tazer for good measure. Planting a knee between his shoulder blades, the third man clapped the handcuffs onto his wrists. Before he knew exactly what was happening he was on his feet again and was being dragged out of the room.  
  
--  
  
Max came into Logan's apartment without knocking, as had become to be habit. Logan, seated by his computer in his wheelchair, with the exoskeleton propped beside him, looked away from the screen. Asha poked her head out of the kitchen, scowled when she saw the visitor, and promptly vanished from sight again. Max was too keyed up for the fact that Asha was there AGAIN, to even register.  
  
Logan smiled, rolling away from the computer to pick up some files from the table behind him. "We got some new information on that factory over in nine. Seems that in addition to his child labor practices......." His voice trailed off when he realized Max hadn't been paying attention. "Something wrong? This is important."  
  
"Yeah well, my fighting the next Big Bad is gonna have to wait. Alec disappeared."  
  
Logan's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "And you're surprised? You didn't really expect him to stick around forever did you? I always knew he'd bail eventually."  
  
"You're not listening here Logan. He didn't just leave, he was taken."  
  
"And you know this, how?"  
  
"Eyewitness," she shrugged. "Hey, get in here!" Jillian stepped cautiously through the still open door, OC trailing behind her. Her hands remained clasped firmly in front of her and her eyes never left the floor. Cindy gave her a push toward the couch.  
  
Max turned back to Logan. "Seems some goombas busted in on their little tryst last night. Alec's place is completely trashed and he is nowhere to be found. I didn't want to bring her here, but she was freaking out. I figure we let her lie low a couple of days, then get her out of town. Meanwhile, I think you ought to check this out." She removed a piece of paper from her pocket and slid it across the table toward Logan.  
  
"It's blank," he stated simply.  
  
"It was in an envelope marked with my barcode number. That's got to mean something. And it smells funny, like there's something on it. My guess is there's a message and the trick is finding out how to get to it."  
  
Logan sighed, running a hand through his hair. "That's where I come in, right?"  
  
"And the man gets it in one. Look, if you'll work on this, I'll drop OC back at home and swing by Joshua's. If Alec did manage to get away he might have gone there to hide out. I'll be back in a few hours. Keep an eye on her, kay?" She jerked a thumb at Jillian, who was curled up in a ball on the couch, casting furtive glances around the room every few moments.  
  
"If Alec really was abducted, do you think it was......" He let his voice trail off.  
  
A dark shadow crossed Max's features. "I don't know. But I hope not." She moved for the door.  
  
"Hey Max." She stopped. "What if you're wrong? Have you considered the possibility that Alec just suddenly decided to ditch Seattle? He's not one of your brothers Max. We both know what he's like, always looking out for number one."  
  
Her lips pursed thoughtfully. She decided to ignore for one instant the fact that there, sitting on Logan's couch was a girl that told of men breaking down doors and a kidnapping. She considered it, but there was something in her gut that told her Alec wouldn't just leave. Maybe at first he would have, but not anymore. She smiled softly, an odd little half smile. "Give me proof," she told him, "and then I'll consider it."  
  
  
  
--  
  
"Where is 452?" A dark, harsh, voice asked for the fourth time.  
  
The response was almost automatic. "I don't know." By this time his face was so numbed, Alec barely noticed the fist as it smashed into his head again. His tongue flicked out over swollen lips, picking up the blood that was trickling out of his split lip. His eyes never left the man standing so smugly before him, and a deep hatred burned behind his eyes. Alec figured that the man wasn't even really expecting the truth, but instead was using the questions as an excuse to inflict violence and pain.  
  
"Now how is that possible 494?" The man sneered. "How is that possible, when whenever we stumble across one another, she's never far behind?"  
  
"I guess you're just a lucky son of a bitch." That response elicited a knee to the midsection and Alec sank back against his bonds. He was standing in the middle of a large, empty room with high walls, his hands chained and stretched apart, till it felt as though his shoulders might come loose from their sockets. He was sweating, and with each blow remaining on his feet became increasingly difficult. His face was a myriad of new bruises.  
  
"I don't believe in coincidences," he whispered darkly.  
  
"And I don't like to believe in psychopathic nut jobs White. Doesn't mean they don't exist. I mean hell, you're living proof of that."  
  
"Where is 452?"  
  
"I. Don't. Know."  
  
"Realize it doesn't really matter if you tell me or not transgenic. We'll just get her when she comes for you."  
  
Alec let out a bitter chuckle. "Oh you really don't know what you're dealing with do you? She won't come for me. She doesn't like me well enough."  
  
"Well then, if not for you, then for this." A man dressed in a dark suit handed White a small, slender vial. The blood drained from Alec's face. "That's right. The cure for 452's little virus problem lies right in the palm of my hand."  
  
"You still won't beat her."  
  
"And why is that?"  
  
"Because you can't beat her. She's better than me, and damn if she's not better than you too. And you know it, don't you? Admit it. She's beaten you before, in that hospital, injured with no one to help her. Now she's healthy, and she's pissed and you think you've got a shot in hell?" Alec grinned. "Wow, you're even dumber than I thought."  
  
A muscle in White's jaw twitched. Summoning all his strength and frustration he wheeled back. White's fist hit Alec's head so hard he heard one of the bones snap. Alec saw it coming and was ready. Unconsciousness reached him so quickly his mind didn't even register the pain of the blow. He just sank into blissful darkness.  
  
Chapter 3  
  
I'm still rather unsure of this whole thing, so let me know if I should continue. Sorry if this took me a while. My horse is off and it's kind of killing any desire I have to write, or do anything other than worry for that matter. If I write 4 I'll try to do it faster. Please review.  
  
A/N: One other thing, I haven't managed to watch all of season 2, though I did pick up a lot from fanfic, like about Ben, but I'm still confused about one thing. What's the deal with Zack/Adam? Is he alive or dead or what? Someone care to explain? 


	4. 4

Chapter 4:  
  
Author's Note: Thanks for all the great reviews. Okay, okay, I won't stop. And just to clarify, the horse isn't gone, he's injured, which really sucks. Okay, to the other little dilemma, I have a real problem labeling this fic as either M/L or M/A. It has elements of both without really crossing out of canon, but without the blinkers on, only has eyes for Eyes Only thing going on in the show. (hey, that's kind of catchy!) SO screw it, I'm not labeling it. Oh, and if anyone wants me to Email them on updates, let me know.  
  
Disclaimer: It's around here somewhere.  
  
Archive: Tell me where first please.  
  
~*~  
  
"It's okay that you care boo." Cindy's words repeated themselves like a mantra over and over again in Max's head.  
  
Was she right? Did she really care? And if she did, when exactly had Alec crossed that line from being just another Manticore project to being a...a...what? A friend? Max shook her head. Maybe friend was pushing it, but an ally? Now that was possible. It was unnerving to think about. Max didn't want to care, because it seemed whenever she began to care people wound up dead, or missing or.....untouchable.  
  
"Not at Joshua's?" Max's head shot up, her eyes narrowing. She was back at Logan's, though she couldn't for the life of her remember getting there. Even going to Joshua's was a bit of a blur. There were only Cindy's words, running circles in her head. She started mulling over them again, until she realized Logan was still waiting for an answer.  
  
"Uh, no. Big guy hasn't seen him in a couple of days. How are things on your end? Where's the girl?"  
  
Logan shrugged, "Shopping if you can believe it. That girl Jillian practically dragged Asha away. Truthfully I think she was just bored, but didn't want to go out alone. And as far as the paper......." he swiveled around to grab it off the desk. "I think I've got it." He lit the flame of a small lighter. Holding the paper in one hand and the lighter in the other, he brought the two of them close together. Max felt an irrational surge of panic. What was he doing?  
  
Logan seemed unaware of her sudden paleness, nor the fact that she hadn't so much as twitched since he lit the flame. Lettering began to appear on the page, and only then did Max allow herself to breathe. Logan grinned, reminiscent of a small child playing with some fascinating new toy. "See? It's like invisible ink. The compound on the paper reacts to heat, starts a reaction and we're left with a PPT."  
  
Max held up her hands, but was amused nonetheless. "Wait, we're left with a what now?"  
  
"A PPT," Logan explained, "a precipitate. This black chalky stuff on the page."  
  
"Oh." She held out her hand. "Can I see?" Her mouth pursed as she read aloud the short note. "Seattle Bus Depot. Sector Six. Locker #367"  
  
"Could be a trap," Logan reminded her. Let it go Max, for once in your life be smart and let it go. He's dead, probably.  
  
"Could be," Max agreed. "But I can't just not go. White's a fucking psycho, we both know that. He's probably planning to lead me on a chase around the city, just so I can find Alec dead and get jumped by a bunch of his 'familiars.'"  
  
"So then don't go," Logan suggested, a little too quickly for Max's liking. "What's the point in getting yourself caught? He's probably already dead Max."  
  
"But what if he's not?" White's pinched, dark, scowling face flashed through her mind and it made her shudder. She couldn't leave Alec with him, not even if there was a chance that he was still alive. Max smiled encouragingly. "I'll be careful, I promise."  
  
--  
  
"I don't want you to go," Logan protested again, wheeling after Max in his chair. She wouldn't look him in the eye. He was going to lose her again. He could feel it. He swore beneath his breath and cursed White, cursed Manticore, even cursed Alec for being stupid enough to be caught.  
  
Max had been rushing in and out of the apartment all day, readying for her rescue mission. Sector checkpoints would close in less than an hour and she needed to be out of the city before that. She had come back after going to the bus depot, package in hand.  
  
flashback  
  
Max tore into the bundle, tearing away the brown paper. Inside was a VHS videotape, one of the pre-pulse advents that had survived and was still useful. Folded beside it was a set of directions leading out of the city and into the country in the North. Max handed Logan the video, and waited impatiently for the images to appear on the screen.  
  
White. It didn't come as a particular surprise that he was involved, but she had hoped.... What did it matter? He was there, staring at her through a screen in full color. She could see a form over his shoulder, slumped forward and unmoving, held up by chains on his wrists. White smiled, an arrogant, hateful smirk that made her want to plant her fist through the TV.  
  
"452," the image began. "If you're watching this tape you know that I have with me a familiar friend to us both. I had been hoping that 494 would simply cooperate, but as I'm sure you can see, we were unable to persuade him to give up your whereabouts." Alec's form was dark and bloody and limp against the chains.  
  
Logan spoke. "Is he?"  
  
"He's breathing," Max managed to hiss through gritted teeth.  
  
White continued with his speech. "Enclosed with this video is a set of directions for you to follow. Of course, you will come alone. Refuse to comply, and 494 will die. I know you transgenic filth stick together, so I'm fairly certain you'd come just to save his neck, but I'll even do you one better. A few months ago I came across a newly unemployed Manticore scientist, and he gave me this." White held up a small tube of milky white liquid. Even Logan sat up a little straighter. "It's your cure 452. You want it? Come and get it." The screen went suddenly black.  
  
Max looked down at the crumpled directions in her hands. She let out a deep, steadying breath and turned to Logan. She hated to ask this of him, but she had to. "Logan, do you know of anyplace they could be keeping Alec, considering these directions?"  
  
He took the paper and studied, the lines across his brow deepening with each passing moment. "Maybe. I heard word of an abandoned Military research facility a few years back. My best guess would leave it somewhere around here. But Max...."  
  
She didn't let him finish. "I need you to know for sure. I need a map, topographical, and plans for that base. Logan please." Large, dark eyes weakened his resolve and he found himself nodding despite himself. Max smiled and headed for the door.  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"I'll be careful when I go in, I promise. But just in case things get a little hairy, I want a contingency plan ready to go."  
  
"So where are you going?"  
  
Max smiled again, broader this time, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. "I'm gonna go find myself a contingency plan."  
  
That had been a few hours earlier, Logan mused. Then she had burst in again half an hour or so ago. Logan has shaken his head as he watched her fly around the apartment, even snagging fresh food and water from his refrigerator. This was nuts. When she had finally asked for the map and the building plans he put his foot down. "I don't want you to go."  
  
Max stopped dead in her tracks, and he could almost see the knot of tension in her back wind tighter. "Excuse me?" She coughed.  
  
"I don't want you to go Max," he reiterated. "It's a trap, it's suicide. Don't you see? White wants to get you out of the city onto his turf so he can play by his own twisted rules. I don't like it and I don't want you going. Finding the cure isn't worth it. We can find another way."  
  
Max couldn't believe the words she was hearing. Logan was completely disregarding Alec in all of this. And he knew White, knew what he was like, the torture he could inflict. "And Alec? I can't just let him die. Or isn't that important?" She was picking a fight and she knew it, but she didn't care.  
  
"Of course it's important Max, but what exactly do you propose on doing? Alec is one person. You may or may not be able to help him. You may wind up getting yourself killed over it. All I'm saying is that there are a lot more people you could help by staying here, and staying safe. Like those kids in sector 9. They need your help too."  
  
"Yeah, but there remains a difference here you don't seem to be getting. The situation those kids are in sucks, but they're not likely to die if I don't go for them right away. Alec, without a doubt, will die. And it's White, Logan. He won't just kill him, he'll torture him till there's nothing left."  
  
Logan through up his hands in annoyance. "I don't get you sometimes Max! Alec isn't your responsibility. He's not your brother!"  
  
"Not my responsibility? He was just a good little soldier till I came along. I blew up his home and everything he knew and let him loose in this stupid, fucked up world."  
  
"Fine, but I still don't get how you can be so willing to risk yourself for him! He's screwed up so much for us Max. How many times are you planning on pulling his ass out of the fire before you realize he's not worth saving? Damn it Max, he's not Ben!"  
  
The words stung and she lapsed into silence. Logan's tone softened. "I'm sorry Max, but I don't see the good in him. He's caused us so much pain. I don't want you to die for him."  
  
Her shoulders slumped forward. She wasn't mad at him anymore, just horribly disappointed. "I can't believe you just said that," she said quietly. "This has absolutely nothing to do with Ben. What is it really Logan? Is the only just cause your cause? Or is the cause only just when you see fit? You can't stop me." She swiped the map and plans off the desk and stuffed them in her pack, shouldering and turning away. "Gotta blaze."  
  
Her hand was on the door when she heard it, his voice. It was so quiet she almost didn't hear it. "I just can't lose you Max."  
  
A warm feeling welled up in her chest and in that moment she almost stopped. He cared. That was the reason he was being so weird, he cared. "I'll come back," she called over her shoulder, "I promise."  
  
--  
  
Max straddled her motorcycle and revved the engine. Tires squealing, she tore away from the curb and onto the nearly empty streets. Dusk was fast approaching over the horizon, sending brilliant hues of amber and crimson through the sky. The conversation with Logan plagued her, especially the ones about Ben. Was it really Alec she was going after, or was it Ben? Or was it just some warped mother hen instinct she felt for all transgenics?  
  
No, she finally decided, it wasn't Ben. No matter how similar they appeared they weren't the same. Alec wasn't Ben. Alec had never told her stories as a child, ones that used to lull her to sleep. Alec was the one that went cage fighting to make a buck, and came up with ridiculous names like Monty Cora. Alec was a gifted con man, Ben a misguided, well intentioned soul. Alec was a cold blooded murderer either, a killer to be sure, like the rest of them, but not a murderer.  
  
Their smiles were different. Ben's smile had always been genuine. It made her feel safe and protected. Alec almost never really smiled. Alec tended more toward grinning, and smirking. Their eyes were different too. Max could remember looking into Ben's eyes one last time, the way they plead with her for mercy and a quick end. They were confused, clouded. Alec's eyes were his own. When Alec let his guard down long enough to really open up, the two were eerily reminiscent, though those times were few and far between. So no, Alec wasn't her lost brother. He wasn't Ben, and it was a fact she both celebrated and cursed every day.  
  
The night in the woods with Ben still haunted her. She could see herself from a distance, standing over him, broken and unable to run. She remembered the words they spoke, peaceful and serene, before she had struck him down. The whole thing always strangely reminded her of a book Logan had forced her to read once, a pre-pulse novella called, "Of Mice and Men," by Steinbeck.  
  
The end of the story had the two characters, friends, together talking while a lynch mob closed in on them. One of the men had killed a woman, not out of hate or because he was evil, but because he had been confused. Death at the hands of the mob would have been terrible, so instead they talked of their dreams, their good place together. Lost in that good place, the simple man never noticed as his friend placed a bullet in the back of his head, a merciful way to end it.  
  
It hadn't been the right thing. There would never be a 'right' in that kind of situation. So Max had done the same thing, chosen the lesser of two evils. "Tell me about the good place......"  
  
The blaring of the truck's horn brought Max out of her reverie and back into the present. The bike skidded as she dodged the large vehicle, but remained upright. The truck passed and she was back on her side of the road, heading out of the city. She blinked back tears. Alec wasn't Ben, but Cindy was right, she did care. She just hoped it wouldn't come to choosing the lesser evil.  
  
Chapter 4  
  
I know this chapter didn't have any action, or Alec for that matter, but I've had these Max musings running through my head for a while, and they do fit, so what the hey? Please review. Flames ignored, constructive criticism accepted and appreciated. Of course, blind praise is fine too. 


	5. 5

Chapter 5:  
  
Disclaimer: Yes I own them, Max in her bitchiness and kick-ass nature, Alec's droolability and all Logan's money. If you believe that you deserve a rude awakening, please.  
  
A/N: I said I wasn't labeling it and I'm sticking to it. Little side note though, antagonizing me and calling me 14, is not a good way to make me write M/L. This is just a good fic for DA fans of any shipper nature, at least that's what I think, lol.  
  
~*~  
  
Max rode hard into the blackness of the forests. She didn't really like the woods, without the lights and populace of the city. She felt too exposed out there all alone, and it brought back old bad memories to boot. It was nearly midnight when Max first spotted the cracked, graying exterior that had once been a military sight.  
  
The high chain link fences surrounding the cold compound reminded her of Manticore, though the building itself did not. At least nothing on the surface would help prompt any regressed memories to the surface. There were no watchtowers, no armed guards pacing the perimeter and no searchlights.  
  
Max carefully concealed her bike on the Southwest side of the compound. She wheeled it into a stand of fir trees and covered it with a piece of camouflage netting and some brush. She lifted her bag, complete with contingency plan off the bike and crept back over to the fence. Max crouched and reached inside her pack.  
  
If things went exactly according to plan, she would be in and out in twenty minutes with Alec by her side. Of course, if she considered he recent rash of luck, she might as well just walk in and hand herself over to White and save herself the trouble. And that was exactly the reason she had come up with the contingency plan in the first place, it was sure to cause a certain amount of distraction. She made her way around the perimeter, stopping every so often.  
  
Finished, she shouldered the pack once more and considered the fence. It wasn't tremendously high, nine feet or so with another foot worth of barbed wire running along the top. She cleared it easily, landing softly in a crouch on the other side. She padded softly across the open yard. The doors were all locked, no real surprise there, so using a drainage pipe, Max scrambled up to the roof.  
  
Staying close to the lip of the building, Max pulled out the building schematic Logan had printed out for her. The med lab was located on one end of the compound, the small, windowless rooms she guessed were probably holding cells on the other. She considered briefly what she might go for first.  
  
"Oh who are you kidding Max?" she grumbled to herself. She was going for Alec, had been the entire time. If she happened to get the cure to the virus in the process, well, that would just be icing on the cake.  
  
Moving as quietly as possible, Max removed a pane from one of the skylights and dropped down into the darkened room. She moved to the door, peering cautiously out the small window into the hall. It was better lit than she would have liked, but no one was around and she ventured out. She stayed low, eyes flicking warily in every direction. This is too easy, a voice in her head warned.  
  
As she trod down the aisle, Alec's scent grew stronger, assuring that she was head in the right direction. The slightly open door halfway down the row of cells caught her attention. She stepped inside, half expecting to be jumped by a team of White's familiars. The room was empty.  
  
Her keen eyes pierced the veil of darkness. He had been here she was sure of it. She was about to leave, when something caught her eye. She kneeled down on one knee and brushed the small, dark pool with the tips of her fingers. Bringing her fingers to her nose she sniffed. Her lip curled in an animalistic snarl and a low, grumbling growl escaped her lips. Blood, Alec's blood. Max's eyes smoldered. She spun on her heel and stalked from the tiny room. White was going to pay for this.  
  
Max seriously felt like kicking some ass, but as of yet, the opportunity had not presented itself. Double doors marked the end of the hall, leading into a high roofed, open room. She plowed through the doors, fists raised.  
  
Her hands unclasped suddenly, and she fought the hollowed, panicked feeling creeping up through her chest. Alec hung from the same place he had in the video. His head hung down by his chest, so she couldn't see his face. She could see the muscles in his shoulders straining to support the entire weight of his body against the cable. His hands were bloodless and pale, the chains having cut off his circulation. Dried blood was caked in his hair, on his face and down his chest.  
  
Max found herself rooted firmly just beyond the doorway. Her lip uncurled from its snarl. "Alec?" The dry, cracked quality to her voice surprised her. She swallowed, tongue flicking out over her lips and she tried again. "Alec?" The sound resonated through the nearly empty room, but there was no response from Alec's still form.  
  
Cursing her own weakness, Max forced herself to take a step, then another, and another until she reached him. She reached up to touch his face, fingers extending tentatively. His skin was hot where the flesh was broken, but even more comforting were the soft, even breaths washing over her hand. Max breathed a huge sigh of relief.  
  
"Alec," she lifted his chin with her hands. His eyes were half open, but he stared by Max like she wasn't even there. The usually vibrant orbs were vacant, dull and glazed over. He must have been drugged, she realized, and heavily too, if they managed to produce this kind of catatonic state. Looking at this empty shell of a man, she suddenly missed the devilish twinkle in his eye and the small quirk of his mouth when he looked at her.  
  
Max released his chin, but his head didn't fall back. It remained in the same place, staring straight through her. She bent to inspect the rest of him. Most of the injuries were minor, bruises and small lacerations. Her fingers traveled up to the largest source of blood. The blood here was fresher, still oozing. She felt like she'd been socked in the gut. There, on the right side of his chest, carved deep into the flesh, were the numbers 494.  
  
The very sight of it made her stomach roll. And when Alec shuddered beneath her light touch, she resisted the urge to wretch. But then, it was the first real sign of life he'd shown the entire time. She was still considering it when the quiet word interrupted her. "Max?"  
  
She started when she heard her name. The voice was very un-Alec-like, soft and disbelieving as though he thought his eyes might be playing tricks on him. His eyes were still hazy, but at least now he was looking at her, rather than through her. "yeah, it's me Alec."  
  
"Max...shouldn't be here.....," he shifted then, a grimace fleeting across his features. "White."  
  
Max straightened quickly, her resolve strengthening. "I know Alec. That's why we're getting out of here ASAP." She started to pull at the bonds about his hands. She could ahve simply ripped them from the walls, but that would ahve been tedious, not to mention loud. So Max went for the chains around his wrists. The metal creaked, but held. "Come on Alec, snap out of it and help me here," she growled through clenched teeth.  
  
"Max, you've got to get out of here."  
  
She stepped away again to look at his face. He was coming out of it. His eyes were less dim, and there was a firm set to his mouth. She couldn't help but feel irritated. This was no time for him to become self- sacrificing. "I just need another minute."  
  
"You haven't got a minute. And even if you do break these chains I can't leave. The moment I set foot outside this compound this stupid, fucking thing around my neck will blow me to high heaven. So just go while you still can."  
  
No one ever said Max wasn't stubborn. "I'm not leaving you."  
  
"Oh see now, isn't that nice?" Max spun to see White at the door. He was flanked on either side by three familiars. "I never took you for compassionate 452. In fact, 494 said you weren't coming. We were starting to wonder if he wasn't telling us the truth."  
  
Max managed a wry smile. "Then it seems glaringly obvious how little you know about him."  
  
"But isn't that why you're here? I so desperately want to get to know the two of you better. Of course, I'm more interested in the ins than the outs of it, but take comfort in the fact that not even I would cut you open while you were still alive."  
  
"Seems to me you have no qualms in cutting us up though," she jerked a thumb in Alec's direction. She was speaking directly to White, but was all too aware of the others moving slowly, encircling her.  
  
White laughed. "That? Come on, I've always found those bar codes to be a little tedious to me. Why not just brand the cattle? You like it? Nice and plain, 494. This way you can look at it, let it remind you of your place, your designation," he snarled. "Where do you want me to put yours?"  
  
"I'm sure you won't get the chance to think of anything imaginative. We're leaving, now."  
  
"Brave words 452, stupid, but brave." White nodded to his followers. Max sensed the first one coming at her before she saw him. Using his own momentum against him, she grabbed his wrist and flipped him neatly over her hip. She ducked as a second swung at her head and lashed out with a foot to nail a third in the stomach.  
  
One of the familiars was watching, waiting for his chance to strike. IN his vigilance he forgot about the other X-5 in the room and let himself get within striking distance of Alec. Alec jumped, heaving himself off the ground and supporting himself with his bonds. He managed to wrap his right leg around the familiars neck. He jerked his body to the side, smiling as he heard the man's neck snap, and let him fall to the floor. The odds were still against Max at 5 to 1, but he figured that was better than 6-1.  
  
Max was sinking fast under the assault. Every time she'd lay one down on the ground another would be right there, taking his place. Her ribs hurt like they were all busted and the tazers that two of the men carried hurt like a bitch. IN her peripheral vision Max could make out White leaning against the wall, grinning smugly.  
  
"Why won't you just die?!" she cried out in frustration as the familiar in front of her rose again. She grabbed his jacket lapels and smashed her knee up into his nose. Then she cast him aside, throwing him almost clear across the room. Another, the shortest of the group, came at her again. She grabbed his wrist, twisted, and let the heel of her palm slam into his elbow. It twisted gruesomely and she relaxed slightly, which only added to the shock when he reached across with his other hand in a roundhouse punch.  
  
Her head snapped back and she released him, stumbling a step. They were on her like carnivores to wounded prey. She lashed out with her right leg at one man, only to have another sweep her left out from under her. She went down, landing hard on her back on the concrete. Her head snapped back and struck the cold ground. Her eyes watered and she could do little more than draw her knees and arms close to her as they continued to pummel her.  
  
"That's enough!" White's voice boomed. The assault of boots and fists ended as quickly as it had begun. Four men stood over her. Max had broken the back of one, and the other body had been Alec's doing. The four remaining familiars parted to let him through.  
  
He stood by Max's head, face twisted by obscene pleasure. Her tongue rolled around her mouth, gathering up the blood that welled there and she spit on his shoes. White crouched, and he whispered so only she could hear. "I will break you." The he stood, firing off orders like a machine. "She's had enough for tonight. Cuff her, collar her, and take her back to a cell. Him too," he jerked his head over to Alec.  
  
Two of the men forced Max to her feet and one held a gun over her as the other handcuffed her. Then they cinched a plastic ring around her neck. She hurt. Her ribs throbbed, her head pounded and it hurt to breathe. But they would never know that. She stood ramrod straight, eyes locked forward, jaw clenched. Maybe Manticore was good for something.  
  
Meanwhile, Alec was doing his best to get himself killed then and there, or, so it would seem. "Couldn't do it, could ya White?"  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"Couldn't fight her on your own. You needed six guys against one girl. You wouldn't have a chance in hell against one of us, admit it. I get you alone and I swear I'll kill you. Get her alone and she'll do just the same."  
  
White stopped in his tracks. "Do they intentionally insert that sort of arrogance into all you transgenic freaks, or is it just you?"  
  
Alec shrugged. "Manticore designed it, but I like to think I perfected it."  
  
White had a hand on his temple, rubbing his head. "Will someone please take him away, Now!!!!!" Alec was still smiling as two familiars led him away.  
  
Max and Alec walked resignedly down the hall. They gave the appearance of utter defeat, while in reality they were already strategizing, plotting. But as they stood side by side in front of their cells Alec turned to Max, his face pained, and said in all seriousness, "You never should have come."  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Yeah, done with this chapter. Sure took me long enough, lol. So, we all know what time it is now right? Time to click on that little button and leave just a few words.  
  
A/N: Okay, it struck me today, and this is an admittedly weird thought, that, in all the smut stories I've read (Yes, I read smut. I admit it), or even R rated romance stories whenever the characters are having sex you always read about clothes being cast aside. I mean honestly, pants, shirts, underwear of various types. But have you ever noticed that no one ever mentions the shoes? So what, the jeans and shirt are gone but the combat boots remain? I am soo sorry, but it's late and I had to ask if this was just me. 


	6. 6

Chapter 6:  
  
Author's Note: yeah, they liked it, they really, really liked it! Lol. This has been so much fun to write. I already have a couple of ideas for the next fic, but I must remind myself to stay focused, because I don't want to be distracted, he he. Thanks for all the great reviews, and do keep them coming! Oh, and I love the responses to my shoe query at the end of the last chapter. I do think i have too many thoughts.  
  
Disclaimer: If you don't get it by now.....man you're thick.  
  
Archive: Yes, sure, just tell me where.  
  
~*~  
  
It was odd really, to watch the two caged trangenics from the outside. They paced together, circling the cell in step with the other and changing directions at the same time, though there was no way they could see one another. It was reminiscent of the way birds in flocks changed direction all at the same time, guided by some innate force. And when they sat, they sat together, on opposite sides of the wall, but had the wall not been there they would have been sitting back to back.  
  
Alec and Max both drew their knees up near their chests, crossing their arms over the top. Max let her chin rest on top of her arms. Alec rested his head back against the cinderblocks, his eyes wandering aimlessly over the blank ceiling.  
  
Max closed her eyes, forcing herself to imagine a place that was anywhere but there. Once she got started it was fairly easy, and her mind began to wander. She imagined someplace open, with trees and sunlight. Logan was there too, they were moving toward one another. Logan's mouth opened, but she couldn't hear his voice. IN fact, the only voice she did hear was.....Alec?  
  
A dark set of eyes snapped open. The voice in her head didn't stop. Standing quickly, Max surveyed the room. She suddenly realized that she really could hear his voice, soft and mumbling from the next room. There was a vent near the top of the wall her and Alec's cells shared. "Alec?" Max called out. Then she stopped, pressing her hands into the cool masonry as she waited for a reply.  
  
"Max? Is that you?" The sounds were muffled, but she could make out the words if she concentrated. She fought to control the fast spreading grin upon her features.  
  
"It's me. How are you doing?"  
  
"AS well as I can be considering White decided to use my chest as a message board. You?" It was odd, speaking to her disembodied voice, but Alec talked anyway.  
  
"I'm fine. I think one of White's little buddies cracked a rib, but fine otherwise. Look, Alec, I have a....."  
  
"Don't say it," his voice interrupted her. "The walls here have ears. Whatever you're thinking just save it."  
  
"So what exactly do you suggest we do? Sit here and let that sick bastard have his fun?"  
  
Alec sighed, she could be so single minded sometimes. "Of course not," he snipped. "But we can't do much right now. We have to wait until opportunity knocks. Then, when it does, we blast the door down."  
  
Max settled herself back on the floor. She hated waiting, hated being patient, but as loathe as she was to admit it, Alec was right. "Hey Max?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
It took a while for his reply to come floating back down. He was hesitant, unsure. "Thanks... you know... for coming."  
  
The words scared her, the same feeling of unreasonable panic creeping back into her as it had when Cindy accused her of caring about him. She couldn't care about him. Everything she cared about always died, or left, or was taken. Like it or not, she didn't want to see him go, so she protected herself the only way she knew how. "I didn't come for you," she snapped defensively.  
  
"Right, the cure. I forgot." Alec sighed. He should have known better, shouldn't sound so crestfallen. He didn't want her to care. If she cared then this entire mess was his fault, another screw up. He hadn't wanted her to come, he scolded himself. He let out a small guffaw. Maybe if he told himself that enough times he might actually start to believe it. But it was that small part of him had wanted her to come that rang true, the selfish part that needed to know that he was more than just an annoyance.  
  
Then, on opposite sides of the wall the two transgenics whispered softly, so that not even enhanced hearing could have caught it.  
  
"Thanks anyway."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
They sat for a while in silence, each mulling over their own silent insecurities. Manticore had drilled that into them too, silent strength. X-series didn't speak of doubts and insecurities. There weren't supposed to be doubts, just the mission, and no fear, just blind resolve. It was the unspoken insecurities that invariably left them alone.  
  
Alec rested his hand on top of his aching chest, feeling the hot, mutilated flesh beneath his fingertips. 494. 494 was a memory now, and a fading one at that. Alec could remember most everything of course, his missions, the training, but what he couldn't remember was why he had been so easily controlled. He'd never questioned anything, not until Max came along. He'd been happy with his designation, satisfied in the fact that he was a productive member of his unit. But then Manticore had been obliterated and Max had deemed him with a new designation, Alec. Everyday the name grew on him until he was more Alec than soldier. He was almost completely Alec now, no longer a soldier, but an individual with freedoms. He'd rather die than give up his new life. He couldn't go back to being 494, ever.  
  
"Oh, and Alec?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Normal said if you weren't in to work today he was going to fire you, so you may want to start thinking up a plausible excuse."  
  
Alec had to laugh. "Like you believe that. There's no way he would fire me."  
  
Max shrugged. "Hey, I'm just passing the message along. Though I must admit I have a hard time seeing him fire his Golden Boy. Gladiator dreams and all that. Something to do with oil maybe?"  
  
Though the simple mental image was enough to make him want to gag, the corner of his mouth quirked up in the tiniest of grins. "You're never gonna drop that are you Maxie?"  
  
"Would you?"  
  
"Probably not," he admitted. "Though I am wondering if you're not wanting to drop it has anything to do with you imagining it. Little too much for you maybe?"  
  
"You're such a prick." Alec chuckled softly.  
  
Max sighed, leaning back against the wall and closing her eyes. "I can't believe you let this happen." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, but what really surprised her was her own bitter tone. She bit her lip, hoping that Alec hadn't heard her, though she knew he had.  
  
"Let this happen? Damn it Max, do you think I wanted this to happen? Like I planned it? You can be so fucking unreasonable sometimes, you know that?"  
  
Max felt her temper simmering. "Well I don't know Alec, did you? I know how much you get off on being the center of attention. And let's be serious, you do have a pretty decent track record for screwing up." She smacked the heel of her hand into the wall for emphasis.  
  
Alec jumped to his feet on the other side of the wall. "Oh no! You are not laying all your problems out on me AGAIN! No matter how much you'd like to believe it, I am not the sole root of all your problems! It's not like I made you raid Manticore. It's not like I'm the one who caught you."  
  
"Yeah, but you've been hanging on my ass ever since, doing your absolute best to mess up my life."  
  
"Life? What life? Are you talking about the wonderfully sedate, NORMAL life of your job, or maybe pining after him, watching from afar cause you were to damned chicken hearted to go after what you wanted? IS that the so called life I supposedly turned completely on its ear?"  
  
"Yeah, that life. SO what if I was trying to be normal, better than being some story covered in tabloid magazines and late night news! And besides which, you are the reason he and I aren't together. The whole virus thing and saving your sorry ass comes into mind you know. That doctor just left after he dug that bomb out of your head, and you actually had the audacity to turn up later with money! Like somehow paying me back the cash would somehow make it all better. Well it's not better, because I still can't be with him." Max was screaming now, her face turning red and blotchy as months of pent up frustration were turning into words.  
  
"Well excuse me for wanting to live! And God damn Max, somewhere in that little twisted mind of yours you must realize that your so-called inability to be with him comes at least partially from yourself."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"I'm talking about having my sorry ass saved. I had twenty seconds to live Max, I wasn't about to force you to hand over the cash. You did that yourself. You didn't ahve to save my life Max and you know it, so don't blame that on me. And yeah, all right, I was assigned to kill him, but I didn't do it, did I? NO. And as for the doctor leaving without finishing your job? Oh yeah, I forgot, poor helpless little Maxie couldn't possibly have stopped the nig bad doctor from leaving the room." Alec was pacing in a tiny circle, hands flying around as he accentuated his words.  
  
"You let him go. So have you ever considered that there just may be a part of you that doesn't want to be with him? Something has been holding you back a long time Max, and it's not always been me. Then you had twelve hours, twelve, and what did you do? You ate PASTA! Do these sound like the actions of a completely sane woman to you, cause I gotta tell ya, from my standpoint, not so much." He sucked in a long breath, the first since starting his little tirade.  
  
"Ass."  
  
"Bitch." He could hear a grumble from the other room. "Yeah, you heard me. Bitch. What are you going to do, kick me? Well ha!"  
  
Now that he was finished he felt mildly embarrassed. She had come, maybe not for him exactly, but she had come and tried to free him. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Max," he called softly, the venom replaced by uncertainty. "Look, I know your life has really been shit lately, and I'm a convenient target and all, but we can't do this. I can't handle you bitching at me right now okay? You're the closest thing I've ever had to a friend. And God, once we get out of here I can deal with you, but not right now. Once we get out you can go back to despising me, but Max, I need you not to hate me right now."  
  
Max felt herself calming down as he spoke. She no longer felt a desperate desire to kill him. Throttle him a little maybe, kick his ass later for sure, but he was right. Now was not the right time to be airing out personal grievances. "Alec I know. And, look.....I don't......ha...." The door to her cell slammed open then, leaving her thought half finished.  
  
Alec moved to the front of his cell, pressing his face against the tiny window. "Max?" he called. "Max, answer me!" Then he saw her being dragged away, a familiar at each arm. She threw herself against their grip, slamming them into walls, but they didn't let go. "No! No, max!" Alec threw himself against the door, panic rising in his throat. He smashed his fist into the metal, leaving a dent and then slid down to the floor, clutching his head between his knees.  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Kinda short I know, and I'm not sure about the last line, but ah well. I had the sudden need in writing this chapter to have them blow up at one another. I could see it in my head you know, the camera shot with a split screen showing the wall and the two of them yelling at each other, though they can't see one another. And yeah yeah I know I'm weird already. I think the shoe query pretty much quashed all hopes at normalcy. Thanks, and don't forget to review! 


	7. 7

Chapter 7  
  
Author's Note: Okay, really sorry about the wait on this chapter. Between horse showing last weekend, my AP tests, inspiration on the novel I've been blocked writing for MONTHS and the fact that my computer practically had a meltdown, centered around Word for some reason, this has not been the easiest chapter to get out. Hope you like it, and uh, I know I take a little creative license here, but I'll explain that more later.  
  
Disclaimer: Oh come on, like I'd bother wasting all my good story lines on fanfic if I actually owned the show.  
  
~*~  
  
Max fought as the two familiars grasped like leeches onto her arms. She fought back when the struck her with the cattle prods, but she couldn't win, not with the other one standing by the door with a gun trained on her chest. They started for the door, dragging her along in their wake, not caring if she kept her feet at all. AS they made their way into the hall, Max cast a single glance over her shoulder, and saw Alec's face pressed up against the glass on his cell door.  
  
Some ten or twenty yards farther on the familiars stopped before a heavy, electronically controlled metal door. Like the doors to the cells, these were stainless steel, and inch thick, with only a small window to peer through. The entire building was wired like this, she knew. Logan had made not of it on the building plans. A five digit code punched into the computer pad on the wall would allow the doors to open for twenty seconds before they slid shut. The only other time the doors opened was when the power failed, sliding open to provide for emergency exits. The shoved Max through, and the door slid shut noiselessly behind them.  
  
--  
  
Alec watched for as long as he could, his face a blank mask. It was only when the door slid shut that he abandoned his vigil. As the adrenaline drained from his body he felt incredibly tired. He had been blissfully unaware of the pains in his body as he had been bickering with White, or Max even, but now every ache was back in full force, every bruise and cut. There was an incessant, dull pounding behind his eyes.  
  
He slid down the wall with his back pressed against the door. The wounds on his chest stretched , cracked and bled each time he moved too much, or too fast. A deep, black sleep overtook him as he passed out on the concrete floor, but it was far from restful. Not when every image in his mind was burned by thoughts of Max being tortured.  
  
--  
  
Max was ushered inside a small, sterile lab room several turns and doors later. White, still clad in his signature dark suit and black coat stood along the back wall with two others. A long, steel operating table was pushed back behind a white board, a set of ancient surgical tools abandoned on its surface. "Hello 452. Miss me?"  
  
"Sure," she responded glibly, "Like I'd miss a hole in the head." She braced herself against the men as they attempted to lever her into a high backed chair in the middle of the room. One of the men behind White came out to help. He grabbed her ankles, thrusting her feet off the ground and allowing the others to set her firmly in the seat. Each man tethered her wrists and ankles to the thick leather straps on the chair's arms and legs. As she felt the bonds tighten, Max fought back an unreasonable surge of panic. She just kept seeing the mutilated flesh of Alec's chest, his designation taunting her in blood red streaks.  
  
"You know, I wasn't lying when I said we had found one of Manticore's ex-employees. IN fact, he'd been something of an integral part in the development of X-5's. You and some of your other '09 escapees to be more specific. Though, I admit, he took something of an interest in 494 as well, perhaps even because of 493. His fixation centered mostly around you though. I'd let you ask him about it yourself but unfortunately," the edges of his lips curled up in a cruel smile, a dark ember in the back of his beady eyes glowing brighter, "Donald Lydecker is no longer with us."  
  
Max had only been half listening before. She was more interested in figuring out how strong the bonds that held her really were, but stopped at the mention of Lydecker's name. her head snapped up and her eyes narrowed, her interest now piqued. "You killed him?"  
  
White shrugged noncommittally. "When we caught up with the man he was somewhat less than cooperative. He was reluctant to relinquish his files to us. Steps were taken."  
  
"That's called murder any way you look at it."  
  
He shrugged again, and in that instant Max discovered that she found it to be an incredibly irritating habit. "Perhaps. But at least we accomplished our goal in recovering the files. Do you want to see them 452? Do you want to know what happened to the rest of your kind?" He approached her then, his voice lowering to a harsh whisper dripping with sarcasm. "Take a look."  
  
The room plunged into darkness and silence, save for the soft whir and glow emanating from the overhead projector. An image came into focus on the wall. The first picture was of Zack, but it wasn't the healthy, strong brother she remembered. His blonde hair was matted to his head, and the blood streaked across his strong features. He was laid out on a lab table, naked from the waist up. His chest had been cracked.  
  
Max couldn't believe it. Lydecker had gone back to Manticore that night after the raid. He'd born witness to Zack's sacrifice. She'd trusted him. She felt like a fool.  
  
White clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "It says here that you were mortally wounded 452. Caught unprepared in the field. The only thing that saved you was 599's heart. You were dying, so he put a gun to his head and put a bullet through his own brain. Even I have to admit, that's loyalty."  
  
A jerk of his head signaled a change of photos. There were a few more of Zack. There were even a few of Max herself, receiving the heart. Max dug her fingernails into the soft flesh of her palm to keep from squirming at those. Then came Tinga. Her sister looked so pale, so small. She hadn't been strong enough to survive the tests.  
  
"She wasn't enough of a soldier was she? She died in disgrace, a lab rat, and completely alone. You weren't there to save her. She needed you." White was taunting her, feeding her nightmares with horrific new images. "They cut her up 452. They dissected her."  
  
Max began to chew on her lip as more images popped up. There was even Eva, the girl she hadn't seen for years, with a gunshot in her back. And then there was Ben. Those pictures were the hardest to see. She didn't want to watch, but she couldn't turn away. Instead her eyes took him in greedily, savoring once again the sight of his face. It was only when she came to the grotesque angle of his neck that the memory of what she had done came flooding back.  
  
"He was the worst of you freaks. He was a monster, a psychotic. He deserved to die," White goaded. Max leaned forward in her seat, muscles tensing against her restraints. "And it's your fault. They all died in your stead. You could have helped them, you should have tried, but you just ran. Pathetic. You killed 493 yourself and the others you didn't have to see."  
  
White blinked slowly and Max followed his gaze to the last picture. It was Alec, back at Manticore, back in the day when 494 still lurked behind his eyes. He was standing at attention, and there was no familiar smirk upon his features, but it was still him. White pointed to the image on the wall. "Now you've killed him too, but this time you're going to see it all."  
  
White moved behind her. He nodded to another man with dark, vacant eyes that were nearly swallowed beneath wide, ruddy features. His hands engulfed her wrist and without so much as a breath plunged a long needle into her arm. Bright red blood filled first one vial, then two, then three.  
  
White's hands found her shoulder and ripped away her shirt. "Time to brand the cattle. You and 494 will have to compare." He stepped back and two other set of hands came to hold her down. The ruddy faced man put down the vials of blood and picked up a dull scalpel. He held it in front of him, eyes gleaming with feverish excitement and he advanced upon her blade first.  
  
Max exploded. All her rage, her anger, her pain unleashed at a single moment. With a surge of strength even beyond her normal power she literally tore the straps of the chair, shook off the familiars and lunged blindly at the bigger man with the knife. She would not, could not let them reduce her back to being just a number. She struck him hard, one hand on the knife arm and sent them both hurtling back into the wall.  
  
His fingers loosed the blade and it clattered to the ground, but Max was insatiable. She cut him down again and again with blows to the midsection and face. Twice she lifted him up only to slam him back down. The familiars came at her but she threw them off like rag dolls. Her fists pummeled his body, and when she lashed out with an elbow he wavered. She wanted his blood on her hands. Another blow, and he went down.  
  
Four familiars hit her at once from behind. Her knees buckled. Two plunged needles into her back. The world began to spin, until she was looking at everything from a mouse's perspective. As the drug took effect the familiars moved cautiously away. White's shoes stepped into her line of vision. He was amused, mostly. "Take her back to the cell, and bring 494 to me."  
  
Chapter 7  
  
A/N: Okay, I was going to have Alec and White duke it out in this chapter, but I figured I'd make you wait. Oh and uh, I guess I just killed off Lydecker. Oh well, it was the best way I could come up with to get White the files on Max's family, and it's not like I was going to write him in anyway, but uh, sorry to anyone who liked him. 


	8. 8

Chapter 8:  
  
Author's Note: Hmmm.. not too terribly sure about this chapter. I had a few different ideas and this is just sort of how it came out. I thought Alec and White attempting to kick the other's ass was just fitting. Male egos and all.... lol. Not feeling the love here people, please review. I mean come on, I'm hurting Alec here!  
  
~*~  
  
Alec found himself standing apprehensively in the middle of the same large, dimly lit room Max had found him in hours earlier. He'd received a rather rude awakening, the toe of a heavy boot meeting his side. He's been dragged to his feet before he could so much as blink and brought here. Upon entering the room Alec had prepared himself for a fight, or at least a beating, but neither came. The two men had simply unshackled his wrists and left. The doors locked behind them.  
  
The transgenics eyes swept around the room as he turned on his heel. A shiver ran down his spine that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room. Alec focused and used his enhanced hearing to single in on his own steady breaths, and the raspy, deep breaths of another in the room. He wasn't alone.  
  
"You know, the whole hiding amongst the shadows thing is a little creepy. Plus, there's the fact that I know you're there, so you may as well just come out anyway."  
  
White stepped from the dim fringes of the room, his usual dark suit and tie replaced with loose fitting black pants and shirt. His hands were clasped behind his back, mouth twisted in a familiar sneer. "494."  
  
"Is that supposed to be some kind of greeting? And it's Alec, asshole."  
  
"Humans deserve names, and you transgenic freaks are far from human. You're a designation. That's all you are. 494."  
  
"I'm more human than you," Alec retorted. "What do you want?"  
  
White approached again, his dark, mirthless eyes never leaving Alec's. "I'm giving you exactly what you asked for. You and me, one on one."  
  
"Oh, that's real big of you. Have your goons beat the shit out of me, then offer up a fight."  
  
"Take it or leave it."  
  
His response was quick, sharp, and undeniably certain. He'd been waiting for this a long time. "Take it."  
  
White twisted his head around, cracking his neck. He lifted his hands and settled into a fighting stance. "Let's see how good you transgenics really are."  
  
Alec merely grunted. "You must really like getting your ass kicked. Come on."  
  
White moved, faster than Alec had anticipated. A solid fist slammed into his midsection. The X-5 doubled over, falling to one knee, and suddenly all the aches and pains in his body were dimmed by a new rush of adrenaline. Alec leapt up, flipping over backwards and landing a few feet back. White came again, flying forward with fists and feet. Alec ducked, dodged, and delivered blows of his own. In the process White managed to reopen the transgenics split lip and give him another, rather impressive black eye. But the soldier in Alec wouldn't let him register the pain, and in that moment he wouldn't have cared anyway.  
  
White launched into a side kick and Alec dropped to the floor, sweeping White's legs out from under him. White fell, rolling away almost immediately, as Alec rebounded onto his feet, moving lightly, bouncing on his toes.  
  
The two men circled each other carefully, neither one so foolish as to underestimate the other. They were like animals, regarding the other's weakness, vulnerability. White's tongue flicked out and surprise registered on his eyes when he tasted the blood seeping from his nose. He swiped at it with the back of his hand, regarding it curiously.  
  
"You'll die here," he spit out venomously.  
  
"You first," Alec answered quickly.  
  
"I highly doubt that."  
  
Alec's mind was flying. He was tired. He was breathing hard, he was sweaty and he was bleeding. His body was off, just a little, just enough to make him a step slow. And White was good, there was no denying that. He needed something to gain the upper hand, and then it dawned on him. "I know White."  
  
"You know what?"  
  
"I know why you hate us so much. It's not that hard to figure out really. You're afraid." His gaze was steady, his voice low and unwavering.  
  
"Afraid? Afraid of you lab rats?"  
  
Alec shook his head. "Not exactly. You're afraid of what we are to you. You're afraid because you know you're just like us. You may not have been made in a test tube, but you're just as unnatural, just as manufactured."  
  
"We are not the same!"  
  
"You're a freak, just like me. We're a miserable, deluded world of freaks and you're right in the middle of it all. And you're afraid that you won't beat us, your nightmares, that you can't beat us."  
  
"No!" Alec watched as White's face darkened, reason escaping his eyes. "You're a lab rat, an abomination. You were made at the hands of a scientist and never meant to live in this world. We are the next step in human evolution!"  
  
Alec pressed on. There were cracks in White's armor, ways to get in, ways to hurt him. "A false step. And I got news for ya buddy. It wasn't the hand of God that made you what you are."  
  
White was frazzled and a maniacal hatred gleamed from the murky depths of his visage. He rushed headlong at Alec, victim to the transgenics little mind games. And Alec took full advantage. He grasped White's arms firmly, dropping as the man rushed him and tucking his knees to his chest. He rolled onto his back and pushed, flinging White into the air, across the room, and into the wall at the other end. He hit with a loud thud and the man fell, unmoving, to the ground.  
  
Alec approached slowly, fists still raised in a defensive posture. White lay awkwardly, propped up against the cinder blocks. His neck was contorted at what would be, at best, described as an uncomfortable position. His eyes were closed, his shirt torn. "if you're the next step in evolution then I'd say humanity is screwed." His hands dropped to his sides, his fists unclenching. He turned on his heel and began to walk away.  
  
White's eyes snapped open. he rose silently, seemingly unaware of the dust that cascaded off his body in sheets. The X-5 stilled, the hairs at the back of his neck standing on end. He whirled, lashing out with a fist, but missed as White ducked. The cult member used Alec's own momentum against him, flipping the younger man over his hip, but didn't release his wrist. Planting a boot firmly beneath Alec's arm, White wrenched it back. Alec felt like his shoulder was being torn in half as White hauled on it one, two, three times in quick succession until it finally separated with an audible pop.  
  
White lifted Alec by gripping the back of the neck with one hand and twisting his one good arm behind his back. The useless appendage hung forgotten by his side. White swung him around and shoved him face first into the wall, drew him back and proceeded to do it again. Blood ran freely down Alec's face from a gash above his eye, obscuring his sight. His head spun. White drew him back a third time, but stopped, holding Alec about five feet away from the stone surface.  
  
White breathed slowly, his hot breath washing down Alec's neck. "You and 452 have been the bane of my existence for far too long. My superiors have become impatient. I need to deliver 452, but you....you are inconsequential," he snarled. "She was born in a lab, and I'll make sure she dies in one. And you can't do anything to stop me."  
  
Alec felt the anger rising in his gut. With anger came new, untapped reserves of strength. White tensed, readying to drive Alec into the wall again. Alec lashed out with a foot, and instead of hurtling aimlessly into the stone he was walking up it, pushing off, and landing behind a surprised White. He drove his foot into the small of the other man's back. White went down. AS he rolled onto his back, Alec straddled him, his good hand encircling his neck. He felt White's pulse pound against his fingers and it felt good.  
  
"You won't touch her," he growled low, his grip tightening.  
  
White's hands drummed uselessly against Alec's chest. The doors to the room burst open and three men ran inside. They dragged Alec off White, though it took two of them to free White's neck of Alec's hand. Alec started to laugh hysterically as the dragged him away. White rose slowly to his feet, hand reaching to rub his neck and he pushed one of his familiars away. The pain in Alec's arm felt very distant.  
  
All he knew, was that he would rather die before let White torture Max. What he relished, had been the unadulterated fear in White's face, as he had choked the life from him. And in a way, it had been White's victory, as 494 reawakened in Alec's eyes.  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Again, was planning on making this longer, but I thought this was a good place to end. I think Alec is slipping, you? Please review, they really do help. 


	9. 9

Chapter 9:  
  
Author's Note: This took me a while and I am sorry, but graduation is giving me a lot of extra stuff to do and not a lot of extra time. I did think about torturing Max a little more vividly, but I don't want to end up stretching this out and making it boring in the end.  
  
Disclaimer: If I owned them I sure as hell wouldn't have cancelled it!!!!  
  
A/N2: I encourage everyone to sign those petitions and write letters to FOX. Shows have been saved before because of loyal fans, I mean, look at Once and Again, which ended up on an extra two seasons because of loyal fan support. Savedarkangel.net is a good place to start.  
  
PS: I'm such an idiot. I totally forgot about the electronic controlling devices thing. Okay, fixing it. Wow I'm stupid, and tired! The horse and I crashed last week, pretty bad, and I swear I think I hit my head, but I'm not sure, lol.  
  
~*~  
  
Max heard the cell next to her being opened and then slammed shut and she let out a huge sigh of relief. When she had been brought back to her cell she'd tried to talk to Alec, but there had been no answer. She had been worried that White had killed him.  
  
Max forced herself to move from the stretched out position she had been lying in on the floor. She rolled onto her stomach and drew her knees beneath her, thankful that the tranquilizers had worn out enough to allow her even that much movement. Her forehead pressed into the cold concrete floor and she cursed the pain she felt shooting up her back.  
  
After White had gone, his cronies had lifted Max onto a table. Blood wasn't the least of what they had taken from her. They'd taken a biopsy of her skin, leaving a small hole in her hand. The men had taken a tap of her spinal fluid, without painkillers, and had missed twice, leaving irritated red welts on her back. They'd taken hair samples too, and scraped the inside of her mouth for saliva. The process had been both humiliating and painful, for the tranquilizers did nothing to dull the pain, but Max would never let them know that.  
  
Then of course, was the disturbing thought that had settled into the back of her mind. Her head had been admittedly fuzzy, but she was almost positive she had heard correctly. Two of White's cronies had been talking before they had taken Max back to her cell. They'd been talking about packing up, leaving.  
  
--  
  
"We're heading out tomorrow, early. He said we need to get back so we can perform more thorough tests on the subject."  
  
"And the other?"  
  
"The other transgenic is to be eliminated. We'll burn the body before we leave. Fen'os tol."  
  
"Fen'os tol."  
  
--  
  
Her mind had been racing the entire time, dwelling on the pictures of her dead brethren. Zack's eyes, so heavy with duty and honor and responsibility haunted her, for the last time she'd seen them they'd been almost blank. Ben's twisted neck plagued her, and somehow, slowly, his picture turned into Alec's picture. She saw him dead, lying torn open just like Ben, their faces the same, but different. Max had a pretty good idea of which transgenic they had been talking of eliminating. She shook her head, not willing to let herself go there again. She wasn't going to let that happen.  
  
She wanted to talk to Alec about it. She wanted to go over the minor details of her plan and discuss strategy, but she couldn't, not when she wasn't sure who was listening. She just hoped that Alec would catch on. But she did need to talk, so she just said the first thing that popped into her head.  
  
"Ugh, what did they give me, elephant tranquilizers?" She questioned no one in particular, but knew Alec could at least hear.  
  
"Horse tranquilizer's more likely," the gruff response floated down to her. "When was the last time you saw an elephant in the Washington, Seattle area?"  
  
"Oh, thank you for the distinction. Yeah well, when was the last time you saw a horse either?" she challenged.  
  
"Sooner than the last time I saw an elephant, that's for damn sure," he responded snidely.  
  
Max rolled her eyes, feeling mildly exasperated, but quickly quelled the urge to become completely irritated. "We are NOT arguing about this," she stated.  
  
"Really?" Came the voice from the other room. "Cause I could have sworn we were."  
  
"Smart ass," she snipped, but there was no real venom behind the words.  
  
"Whatever Max." IN truth, Alec was barely listening. He was up, pacing back and forth in front of the wall separating the two cells, clutching one hand to his shoulder. The pain was coming back to him, and not being able to move his arm was proving agitating.  
  
"Are you all right?" she queried. Alec sounded a little.....off. He sounded almost detached. There was a cold edge to his voice that she hadn't heard out of him in a long time. it was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.  
  
"Aargh!" Alec bit out as he struck his shoulder firmly into the wall. He felt the bones grate, but the joint was still detached. Small beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and his teeth ground into his lower lip. he hit the wall again, harder. This time there was an audible pop as the joint reconnected.  
  
"Alec?"  
  
He breathed out a small sigh and tentatively tested his arm, raising it gingerly overhead. It was sore, to be sure, but at least now he could move it. "I'm...I'm fine Max. Relocated my shoulder is all." Max didn't bother to respond, suspecting that he didn't really want to discuss it.  
  
A small grin flitted over Alec's features. "Worried about me Maxie? I'm touched."  
  
Max managed a little half smile. Now THAT sounded like the Alec she knew. The dry sarcasm he exuded was strangely comforting. "Don't be," she replied teasingly. "I just need your sorry butt to help get me out of here."  
  
"Right, just so we're clear. Does this mean you have a plan?" Alec asked as he sank to the ground, stiff and exhausted. He stifled a yawn. Three days without being beaten, locked in a cell without food and little water, were finally taking their toll. The last time he had felt so utterly wiped out were his last days in Psych Ops after six months of testing and prodding. His eyes felt heavy. Alec considered briefly that he was getting soft out here, in the real world, but didn't dwell on it for long. "Go to sleep Max. Take your rest when you can get it. I get the feeling tomorrow is going to be a long day."  
  
"Yeah, sleep." Max moved into a sitting position. /If only he knew,/ she thought wryly. /Tomorrow we get out of here, or die trying./  
  
--  
  
Alec was beginning to get used to this, being handcuffed and pushed around by Familiars with guns. It didn't mean he liked it by any means, but he no longer bothered to fight it. He'd rather save his energy for White. He was surprised however, to find Max beside him as he left his cell. her hands were cuffed behind her too. He raised an eyebrow in question, and Max just shrugged in response.  
  
But Max was less surprised than she let on. She had figured White would want it this way. He would want her to see him in his last few moments, before White cut him down in front of her. He meant to break her. She meant to never give him the chance.  
  
"This is all your fault you know," she snapped at Alec as the walked slowly down the hall.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"You heard me. This is all your fault. If you weren't such a fucking screw up we wouldn't be in this mess right now. But no, Alec can't keep the little soldier under control, can he?"  
  
"Well good morning to you too Max. And when exactly did we decide to release the psychopathic bitch?"  
  
"Once I realized you were a useless, irritating, sack of human flesh. I think Psych Ops screwed around with your head more than you realize. No normal person acts like you!"  
  
"Well maybe that's because I'm not normal! You have this little fantasy in your head that we can all be equals, be normal, but you're just fooling yourself. We were never meant to be normal. And I'll say it again, it's not like you're the model for healthy psychological behavior either. You masochistic freak!"  
  
They stopped dead then and faced off, nose to nose, each transgenic seemingly more interested in their argument than the two men behind them, sharing flabbergasted looks. They tried prodding them forth with their weapons, but neither Alec nor max gave any indication of even feeling the pokes. It was then that Alec caught it, the slight shift in Max's eyes as she let loose on another tirade. "Oh no, do not start in on me and Logan again. Your longest relationship has lasted what, an hour?"  
  
"Relationship? What relationship? You two just live to make each other absolutely miserable!  
  
At least I don't stake a claim on some poor person who I'm only going to end up hurting. you're a real piece of work Max, do you know that?"  
  
"At least I'm not a self centered, spoiled brat who only lives for himself. And what the hell kind of name is Monty Cora anyway? I mean, come on, could you have been a little more obvious?"  
  
"Oh like you could come up with any better?"  
  
"No wonder White caught your ass."  
  
"Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yeah!" The two transgenics whipped around, lashing out with their feet. The Familiars were caught unprepared, their weapons flying form the grip. Alec ducked his head and charge, catching the one guard in his midsection and driving him back into a wall. Max spun, the toe of her boot connecting solidly with the other man's temple. Both men were out in a matter of moments. Max quickly searched the pockets of the guards for keys. Once she found them she unlocked Alec's cuffs, and then he unlocked hers.  
  
Max dragged the men back toward the cells and dumped them inside. She waited impatiently for Alec to strip the men of their weapons before locking them up. "That? That was your brilliant plan?"  
  
"Hey I never said it was brilliant."  
  
"I'm not even sure I would call that a plan," Alec went on. "More like sheer random luck that these two goons were complete idiots. What were you going to do if this didn't work huh?"  
  
"But it did work, so stop complaining and let's go."  
  
"But, just for arguments sake, was there a Plan B?"  
  
"Of course there was a plan B."  
  
"Which was?"  
  
"I was going to wing it." Alec stopped, hand hovering over the second man's pistol, completely dumbstruck. "Would you get a move on already? We've only got a couple minutes before White realizes we're not where we're supposed to be." Max tapped her foot impatiently. Alec finished retrieving the arms and let Max close the door. Max took off down the hall.  
  
"It was a stupid plan," Alec mumbled, but Max wasn't listening. Alec caught up with her shortly. "So exactly where are we going?" he asked. "Should I even assume you know where you're going? Cause honestly, you're not inspiring a hell of a lotta trust here."  
  
"The doors are all electronically sealed. Cut the power, the doors open. According to the plans Logan gave me, the nerve station for this place should be just around this corner. Not to mention we can probably find something there to get these damned collars off." She stuck her index finger between the plastic ring and her throat, and cracked her neck. Then Max just stopped, and it was all Alec could do not to hit her head on.  
  
"What now?" She held a finger to her lips. Alec quieted immediately, his ears picking up the sound of someone moving closer. As the man rounded the corner Max struck out. Her punch landed solidly on his jaw, but he shook it off almost immediately. Alec stood just to one side, fists clenched, ready to lend a hand.  
  
The familiar ducked, narrowly avoiding another of Max's blows. He dropped, sweeping her feet from under her. Max rolled away as his boot slammed to the concrete where she had just lain. Alec leapt on him. He thrust the heel of his hand into the man's elbow and drove his heel into his knee. Max dusted herself off, waiting for Alec to knock him out and be one with it, but he didn't. Instead Alec grabbed the man's head, and with one swift, vicious pull, snapped his neck.  
  
"Alec!" Max cried out in surprise.  
  
"What?" he snapped, his eyes flashing. His mouth was pulled into an ugly sneer, his brow furrowed as he let the man drop lifelessly to the floor. So ugly was his expression that max found herself taking a step back. "Never mind." She had never seen so much hatred, so much dark fury glistening in Alec's eyes as she did just then.  
  
Alec pulled a pistol from it's holster. "Here," he held it out to her.  
  
"I don't use guns," she reminded him.  
  
"I don't care! This is life and death here. Take the gun sol......." his voice trailed off as he caught himself. The dark clouds subsided a little and his voice softened slightly. "Take the gun Max." She shook her head. Alec sighed and stood, knowing not to waste his breath arguing. He hooked the pistol into his waistband and they moved on.  
  
They found the control room without too much more trouble. It was filled with large control panels, desks and softly blinking lights. And there was an added bonus. Max's bag lay beside one of the desks, apparently as of yet untouched. She unzipped the top, peering inside and making a quick check of the equipment. Alec crouched down by the door, automatic rifle propped up against his good shoulder, covering the door. "Well?"  
  
"Hold on a sec. She dug through to the bottom of the bag, her hand returning triumphant. "Yes!"  
  
"What is it?" Alec asked, not bothering to avert his eyes from the doorway.  
  
"Detonator timer. I've got charges set all over the place. We're gonna blow this place to high heaven." . She quickly set the timer for eleven minutes and placed it on the underside of one of the desks. The timer beeped once and started to count down. "There's a small charge connected to the timer and it sends and signal to the other charges. We're going to rip this place apart from the inside out." Max took her bag and moved over to the control panels  
  
"Sounds good to me. All right then, let's find a way to get these things off, cut the power and get the hell out of here."  
  
Max went back to the desks, ripping the locked drawers out one by one, scattering their contents on the floor. "Got it!" She cried out in triumph before her voice settled. "But uh, there's a little problem."  
  
"Which would be?"  
  
"It's not a key per say, more like a keypad. The collars must have individual release codes, and we don't know what they are."  
  
Alec turned his head and an eyebrow shot up above his hairline. "Do I even want to know what we think happens if we enter the wrong code?"  
  
"Uh, probably not, but I have an idea."  
  
Alec snorted. "I think we've already established how completely bad your plans are, or ideas, whatever. Thanks but no thanks, I like my head where it is."  
  
"Fine. Wimp. I'll try it on myself first." Max pointed the antenna at her own neck, clamping down hard on her lip, drawing blood. She would have closed her eyes, but at least had the sensibility to realize she would actually need to see the keypad. She punched in the code, and waited. There was a soft click, but no bomb, no explosion. She let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Thank God. Come 'ere Alec."  
  
The other X5 approached warily, and she could see the muscles in his face twitch beneath the battered, bruised skin. Max started punching in the code. Alec did close his eyes. Again, nothing happened. See green orbs shot open. "How did you know?" he asked as he tore the accursed object from around his throat.  
  
Max shrugged. "It's White. 452, and 494. I took a shot."  
  
"You're kidding."  
  
Max shook her head. "He probably never figured we'd make it this far."  
  
"Well geez, no one will ever accuse him of originality. Can we go now?"  
  
"I just need to figure out what panel controls the doors." Max's gaze roamed over the boards till she felt a hand on her shoulder, moving her back. "What are you doing?"  
  
"You make this way to complicated," Alec told her. He emptied the clip of the weapon into the boards. Sparks flew from the panels, a small fire sputtering away. The lights overhead flickered and died. The power to the security cameras cut off. They plunged into utter darkness.  
  
Max stood with her hands on her hips, clucking her tongue disapprovingly. "And you accuse my plan of being stupid. Like White's not going to know something's up now."  
  
"It worked didn't it? I swear, no matter what I do, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch."  
  
"Awww, poor little Alec is so defenseless. Come on, let's go." The two set off at only a marginally slower pace than before. The darkness of the building was doing little to hinder there movement. Not so for the familiars. They had run upon two groups already, disposing of them quickly, though Alec was now down to only one gun remaining.  
  
Max rounded the last corner and pushed up the pace. This was the last door, lying a mere two hundred yards ahead, and freedom lay just beyond it. Alec followed a few paces behind, occasionally firing off a shot to deter anyone who might be following.  
  
Suddenly a siren split out over the air. A dim orange light flooded the hallway. "They must have a backup power source," Max called over her shoulder.  
  
"No kidding," Alec shot back. He fired again, catching one of White's men square in the chest.  
  
"Move Alec! The doors!" Max ran faster, legs pumping rhythmically. The doors were sliding shut. They were so close, so close. Alec kept moving, but had dropped a few more paces. Max squirmed through the last door as it was about halfway closed and spun around to wait for Alec. he was running hard, all thoughts of laying cover suddenly forgotten. "Come on, faster!" He wasn't going to make it. Max grabbed the doors, but couldn't slow them.  
  
Alec reached them just as the last few inches were closing up. His fingers scraped across the metal, to no avail. He was caught, Max on one side, him on the other. His nostrils flared as he breathed deeply, fast. "Go Max," he said softly, muffled further by the glass. She shook her head. He tried to grin. "My sorry butt helped get you out. You're out, now go."  
  
"Alec, the charges. This whole place is going to go up."  
  
"How much time do I have?"  
  
"Not enough."  
  
"Max, how much time?"  
  
She glanced at her watch, which was counting down along with the timer in the control room. "Four minutes. But I'm not leaving you behind," she told him firmly.  
  
"Then I'm leaving you. I'll find another way out, but if I don't, Max, thanks, for everything." Alec nodded to her shortly and then turned on his heel and took off back down the corridor. Only when he disappeared around a corner could Max make her feet move away from the door.  
  
She trotted out, away from the building and into the grass. She had to choke down the lump in the back of her throat. This entire mission was ending fruitlessly. Not only could she not save Alec, but she hadn't had time to search for the cure to the virus. Now it was all about to go away in a ball of flames, the cure, her chance to be with Logan, and Alec, her friend. Her feet felt like led weights as she trudged up a small incline toward the perimeter fence.  
  
Max cursed herself later for being caught so completely unaware. She never heard him coming up behind her, and she was on the ground so fast her mind could barely register the fall. White was straddling her, pinning her to the ground with a knee in her chest. He drew his gun from the holster on his hip and Max reacted, reaching up with her left hand to grab his wrist. They wrestled, each fighting for control over the weapon. Max punched him with her other hand and his head snapped back though his grip remained strong. Then came the blast, ripping through the building and lighting up the night sky. Billowing crimson tendrils flickered and danced in the air as the two fighting people were suddenly bathed in warm light. White flinched, head craning back to the building. Max felt her chest seize and tighten.  
  
She punched him again and twisted, throwing him off her. She leapt to her feet and drove her booted foot into his hand. The gun skittered away into the darkness. White growled and struck out with his leg. Max grunted as it met her stomach and she stumbled away. White jumped to his feet. He hit her hard and fast. Her head was reeling. Two rough, calloused palms encircled her throat. He lifted her off the ground and squeezed. Max punched him, kicked him, but he held fast. Black spots swam before her eyes as she gasped for air. So this was it, this was what death felt like.  
  
Chapter 9  
  
okay, so this should wrap up in the next chapter or so, I think. Have another story I'm working on that should be out soon. Thanks for your patience, hope you enjoy. And please, review!!! It does help. 


	10. 10

Chapter 10:  
Disclaimer: Blah blah woof woof  
A/N: Okay, this is by far the longest, in terms of chapters, story I have ever written. Okay, so I'm asking for reviews. I want to crack one hundred, just once, so please, please review, if you loved it or hated it or whatever. I have a new one up, (Warning M/A centric) Rocky Mountain High, so check it out. And of course feel free to send reviews to my email, wondertross @hotmail.com, especially since FF.net is being screwy.  
  
~*~  
  
Max's eyes began to water as more time passed without her being able to draw air. Her right toe scraped across the rough ground, but there was no leverage to be found there. So she imbedded her fingers into White's wrists, but the man was oblivious even as warm trickles of blood began to sluice down over her hands and arms. Dark spots began to swim in front of her eyes and she knew she would be unconscious in a matter of mere moments, and that once she was, it was all over.  
  
"Where is my son?" She couldn't answer, not even to tell him to go to hell.  
  
Then suddenly two loud cracks erupted from behind the battling pair. She felt the air ripple as a bullet hurtled by her side. And then she was falling, being thrown clear. She landed hard on her shoulder and drew in a deep, shuddering gasp. Air, sweet, life-sustaining air filled her lungs.  
  
--  
  
"494," White snarled from his place in the grass. "You just refuse to die."  
  
"Yeah," Alec growled, keeping his pistol leveled straight between White's eyes, "I'm stubborn like that." The ex-Manticore soldier surveyed White's two wounds, one in the shoulder, the other taking out his left knee. Blood pooled around his form, staining the strands of grass and glimmering weakly in the pale moonlight. "Retribution's a bitch ain't it?"  
  
"Not as much as your little friend there."  
  
Alec's finger closed a little around the trigger as he glanced in Max's direction. She was moving to her feet, but he could already see the deep bruises forming on her neck. His blood boiled. He needed to fix this mess he'd gotten them into. He wouldn't let Max suffer because of him. "Now is not the time to fuck around Ames. I'm. Not. In. The. Mood." Alec punctuated every word with a sharp jerk of the handgun.  
  
He watched the man squirming on the ground and couldn't help but smile. There he lay, slithering along the ground like the little worm he was. It was so fitting. "Now come on, tell me that didn't hurt just a little."  
  
Max watched the two men warily. She noted the way White taunted Alec, was prompting him toward action, because he saw just what she did. She could see it in his eyes. Alec was fighting with the man he had once been, the man Manticore had trained him to be, with 494. The soldier burned just beneath his visage and his eyes smoldered with unadulterated hate and blood lust. A vein in his temple throbbed.   
  
But it was Alec standing there now at the forefront, bantering away like he was fine, though deep, half healed wounds indicated he was anything but. It was Alec that kept him from pulling the trigger and ending White's miserable life. And it seemed White was more concerned with breaking Alec than he was with his own life.  
  
"What are you waiting for freak?" The cultist goaded. "Just do it."  
  
"Alec, no," Max protested calmly from her place on the grass.  
  
Dark eyes moved over to her even as he readjusted his grip on the weapon. His finger was flexing, moving slowly toward and away from the trigger. "Why the hell not?"  
  
"Because he can't stop us from leaving right now. You did what you had to, now let's just go."  
  
"He'll come back Max. He always comes back. I could end it, right here, end it all." His lips thinned as he double fisted the gun, as if to reaffirm his intentions. She didn't know. She hadn't seen what he'd seen.  
  
"You think that would end it? Do you? Okay, so White would be gone, but there would be others, just like him, worse than him." Max remained rooted to her station some ten or fifteen feet from the two men. She didn't dare move for fear of setting Alec off. It didn't matter how fast she was, because Alec was the same, and all he had to do was squeeze the trigger. She had to talk him down. "Think about it Alec."  
  
"I have Max, but I do have to kill him, because you won't. You're too soft. Can't make the hard choices, can't kill, can't carry a gun." For a moment he almost sounded wistful, regretful, but it passed quickly and the space was once again filled with his steely tenor. "When are you going to realize that it's a war zone out there Max and that we are seriously outnumbered? So what if I kill one, or ten, or a hundred just like him? They wouldn't hesitate to slaughter us. You, me, Joshua, it wouldn't matter to them."  
  
"But we're not them Alec. It just can't be like this."  
  
"Why the fuck not?! Why does keeping this shit alive matter so damn much to you?" He shook his head. Why was he even listening? At what point did her opinion even begin to matter to him? He was right.  
  
"It has nothing to do with him! I don't give a damn if he lives or dies 364 days out of the year, but not today. Today, like this, you cannot kill him. And it has absolutely nothing to do with him. Today is about you. Don't you see that he's playing with you? You kill him and he wins."  
  
"Oh 452, that's so incredibly touching," White sneered.  
  
"Shut up!" the two transgenics yelled together.  
  
"I don't....I don't understand Max." His voice was quieter. HE was listening, she was getting through.  
  
"It's about you and 494."  
  
He chuckled. She was talking like they were two separate people. "Hit your head hard there Maxie? We're one and the same, Manticore, remember?"  
  
"No you're not. I'd be willing to bet that you haven't been 494 for a very long time. Not since before I met you, not since......Rachel." He visibly flinched, but she continued. "494 died when they blew up that car. You stopped being their little, brainwashed slave that day."  
  
"But I didn't do anything," he replied weakly.  
  
"You survived. Psych Ops, reindoctrination, and whatever the hell else they might have done to you. Most couldn't have done that. And maybe you did stop caring for a while, but you didn't forget. They couldn't make you forget, so they couldn't get 494 back, not really. They lost you Alec, to humanity. Manticore couldn't resurrect 494, so don't let White do it now. The man or the soldier Alec, it's time to choose."  
  
Another few, tense moments passed. A plethora of emotions swept over his features, not the least of which were regret, loss and pain she couldn't begin to understand. Pain from all that Manticore had inflicted upon him, regrets of what he had done, and Rachel. She didn't even have to guess about that. And she realized then that Alec was far stronger than she had ever given him credit for.  
  
"Put the gun down Alec."  
  
He looked at her, honestly looked at her for the first time that night. A heavy sighed slipped over him and his shoulders slumped. The gun went slack in his fingertips and he backed away. "I'm gonna regret this Max, I can already tell."  
  
She shrugged, allowing herself a small grin. "Maybe, maybe not. Ready now?"  
  
"Yeah, just one more thing." He turned to White. "Next time, I will kill you. And uh, you may want to have that looked at," he told the cultist, pointing to his wounds, "when you wake up." And Alec hit the other man upside the head with the butt of his pistol. White's head fell back against the grass. He looked at Max. "What?"  
  
Max just shook her head. The two turned and trotted up the slight incline toward the fence. They scaled it and as Max set about uncovering her bike Alec looked back at the building. "Remind you of anything?" he asked, the curling amber tendrils reflecting in his eyes.  
  
Max rolled the bike out of the trees and stood next to Alec. "Yeah. I think it's like a tradition, our version of Independence Day."  
  
"But instead of setting off fireworks we destroy buildings?" Alec joked.  
  
"Exactly. Now come on, let's go home. I'm sure your little friend will be so happy to see your face again. I bet she's been driving Logan up the wall." She straddled the bike and started the engine. "What's wrong?" She asked, taking in his confused, befuddled appearance.  
  
"What friend?"  
  
"Your token girl from Crash, remember? She was completely freaking out when I went to your apartment, didn't want to be left alone. She didn't want to leave without making sure you were alright, go figure. So she's been crashing at Logan's."  
  
Alec paled. "Max you're kidding right?"  
  
"No."  
  
"She set me up. She's one of them Max, a Familiar."  
  
"Oh my God, Logan. Get on." Alec barely had time to swing his leg over the bike and get a hand around Max's waist before they were tearing off toward the road at breakneck speed, both hoping that they weren't too late.  
  
--  
  
"Logan!" Max called out as she sprinted from the elevator, down the hall toward Logan's door. Alec was behind her, dogging along with the last remnants of strength left in him. He couldn't even seem to pick his feet up off the ground, dragging his toes along the carpet as he ran.  
  
Max would have busted down the door had it not already been opened. Her hair flew out behind her as she raced inside, panicked and grim faced. She darted off to search the living room and his office, while Alec separated and moved for the bedrooms. He was halted in his tracks less than halfway down the hall. "Alec!!" Max's short, uncharacteristic cry was all the prompting he needed.  
  
He ran into the living room to find Max staring down at Logan's still form, horrified. She seemed petrified, like she couldn't move. She wanted to touch him, to assure herself that he was indeed alive, but if she did that she would most surely kill him. So she was stuck, hands clenched tightly to her sides, staring fixedly at the man on the floor. Her eyes rose as he entered the room. "Alec please."  
  
Alec reassured himself as he came nearer, that there was no blood to be found on or near the man, and that his chest was rising and falling in rhythmic waves. Alec just hoped that Logan was all right, for Max's sake. He didn't want to think about how she would react if Logan were seriously injured, he didn't want to think about the responsibility he would feel. He'd brought this down on them all, and though neither spoke of it, both knew. Alec kneeled next to Logan, his fingers brushing the man's neck. His sigh was audible. The pulse he felt was strong and even.  
  
"He'll be okay," he assured Max softly. Max went weak kneed with relief. Alec eyed the other man's arm critically. "I think he's in shock Max, broken wrist, maybe more. Call Dr. Carr and see how fast he can make it over here while I check him out some more." He had to send Max away. He had seen Asha out of the corner of his eye on the couch, the pale skin on her dangling hands flushed and stained with blood, but he couldn't leave Logan's side, not with Max standing there.  
  
"Right, Dr. Carr, right." She dashed away.  
  
Alec rose stiffly and trudged over to Asha. In the grand scheme of things she was the worse off of the two, a deep stab wound marring the flesh of her thigh. The wound still bled, but slowly. Her face was pale, which only served to enhance the bruises around her neck. He touched her cheek gently with the back of his hand. Her skin was cold, cold and clammy.  
  
"None of the phones in here are working!" max cried out from the other room in frustration. "Damn it! And his cell phone is busted. I'm gonna go next door, see if they have a phone that works." he heard her leave the apartment, the door clicking shut behind her.  
  
Alec turned his attentions back to Asha. He grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch, tucking it securely around her small body. He grasped her hands and pushed her legs back onto the pillows. There was flesh beneath her nails. She had fought, good for her.  
  
A small gasp from Logan's position on the floor tore Alec's mind from thoughts of bandages and pressure wraps. Logan shifted uncomfortably on the hard floor. "Whoa there Log boy." He kneeled beside the older man again, pressing his hands against the man's shoulders. "Don't be in such a hurry." Logan's eyes fluttered and alec actually grinned. "There ya go buddy. Logan? Can you hear me Logan?"  
  
A floorboard creaked behind him and Alec's enhanced heart skipped a beat. He swung around, but barely had enough time to lift his arm before he felt the knife plunge into the soft flesh between his clavicle and his shoulder. His arm dropped and he rolled away, the knife still plunged hilt deep in his body. His left hand clasped the ornate handle, bright blood seeping out between his fingers. His eyes flashed. "Oh you......BITCH!"  
  
"I thought the conclave would have finished you, 494," she spat.  
  
"Yeah, well, you can't keep a good transgenic down."  
  
"We'll see." The girl launched herself at him, a near blur of fists and feet. he was doing alright until she went for the knife. Alec protected himself instinctively, dropping his right shoulder and turning his back to her, lifting his left arm. Her attack changed mid-flight and she lashed out, her boot connecting solidly with the outside of his knee. Alec slipped and went down. For the first time in his life he couldn't spring right back to his feet. For the first time his body was giving up on him, shutting down. He was tired, he was done. He hit the floor on his right side, and the knife tore farther into his flesh.  
  
The Familiar leered savagely above him. "Say goodbye." She raised up her foot, ready to bring it down on his throat.  
  
Someone tapped her lightly on the shoulder. The woman whirled. "Goodbye, bitch." Max's fist smashed squarely into her nose. She stumbled back and max continued with her physical and verbal onslaught. "You picked a really bad day to fuck with my friends." She nailed her in the chest with a spin kick. "When are you," roundhouse to the right temple, "and your breeding cult buddies gonna realize," uppercut to the chin, "that you're not going to win?!!!"   
  
Max planted her heel into her chest with a forward kick that sent the familiar flying through the plate glass partition separating Logan's living room from his computer room. The girl lay amidst the shard of broken glass, convulsing. A thick, long shard of glass poked up right below her ribs. Blood seeped from her mouth, and she took one last, shuddering breath.  
  
Max sighed and turned around. She helped Alec to his feet, her hand resting atop his good shoulder. "You okay?" She asked.  
  
"Define okay a little better and I'll tell ya," Alec said through gritted teeth. His hand wrapped around the hilt of the blade and slowly drew it from his shoulder. He only managed to stay on his feet with the help of Max's steadying hands. He felt lightheaded and woozy.   
  
The blade was serrated on one side and about three and a half inches long. From the look of the ornate wood handle, he guessed it was from Logan's private collection. "Tell Logan he should be more careful about displaying deadly weapons for people to just find." Max chuckled and he stumbled, balancing against Max, as a rush of new blood poured from the open wound, making him light headed.  
  
She helped him into the living room, where Logan was just rising to his feet, albeit unsteadily and fumbling with his glasses. He blinked quickly a few times. "Alec?"  
  
"You seem surprised," Alec commented dryly. He sat down heavily on a chair.  
  
"No just...well...yeah actually. How did you......? Max, why did it take so long? Are you okay? What just happened here exactly?" Logan looked around, paled when he saw the dead Familiar in the middle of his apartment, then looked at Asha on his couch and sputtered, "Does someone mind filling me in here?"  
  
Max and Alec looked at each other. Then they both looked back at Logan. "It's a long story."  
  
The two transgenics explained most of their ordeal. Alec couldn't help but see the disapproving, dark looks cast in his direction by Logan, but Max was oblivious. Dr. Carr showed up ten or fifteen minutes later, and Alec only stuck around long enough for the doctor to assure Max that he would, in fact, be fine. Then he left, leaving Carr to treat Asha, and Max to fret over Logan.   
  
All things considered, and Alec couldn't really blame Logan for the hostility. He'd put them all in danger, Max, Asha, Logan. He didn't want to think about what could have happened to Max, in White's hands, or the fact that the man she loved had very nearly been killed. And he was responsible. So he left, quickly, silently, he needed the be alone, so he could think.  
  
--  
  
Max edged her way through the crowded main room at Crash later that week, beer pitcher in hand. It felt good to be out, with OC, and Sketchy, and Logan, and she didn't even mind that Asha was hanging around, slowing everyone down as she hobbled around on crutches. There was only one person missing, and she spotted him sitting alone at the bar.   
  
He hadn't been around much in the last week, and when he had been he had been unusually subdued. He'd come to work only once, and briefly, to smooth things over with Normal. Max knew he'd been trying to find a new apartment, since he couldn't exactly stay in his old one anymore.  
  
Max watched him as he sat, avoiding everyone, hunched down over the bar and his drink. She hadn't seen him so....introspective since the whole fiasco with the Berrisfords. He was dealing with one of those moments, moments she too had experienced, where, for even just a second, life at Manticore seemed easier than life outside. She wished she had some great words of comfort and wisdom for him, but none immediately sprang to mind.  
  
A song started to play, pre pulse, and people pulled away from the bar, but not Alec. She could plainly see the sharp angles of his shoulder blades and his backbone jutting up through the fabric of his shirt, a testament to the weight he'd lost and the type of punishment undergone. She watched him like that for a while, head cocked slightly to one side, the pitcher dangling loosely from her fingertips.   
  
She wondered exactly how much Alec could take before he finally asked for help. She wondered if he might ever ask for help. He was proud, too proud. He'd fought back his darker side there, in the woods, but just barely. It was a frightening thing to realize exactly the type of savagery one was capable of while still fully in control of their faculties, without orders, or mind games. Max finally moved toward the bar with a heavy hearted sigh, because this was not likely to be pleasant conversation.  
  
*  
And even though the moment passed me by  
I still can't turn away  
I saw the dreams you'd never thought you'd lose  
tossed along the way  
Letters that you never meant to send  
get lost or thrown away  
And now we're grown up orphans  
That never knew their names  
And don't belong to no one, that's a shame.  
You could hide beside me, maybe for a while  
and I won't tell no one your name  
*  
  
Max set the pitcher down on the bar, resting her elbows against the wood and waved for the bartender. She was careful to avoid his right shoulder, his arm still hiked up in a sling. "Hey." It was a start.  
  
"Hey yourself," Alec replied without so much as a glance. He'd known she was there, but he wasn't about to be the one instigating conversation. Instead he tried to listen to the music and push her away.  
  
He kept his eyes trained forward. Maybe she'd get the hint, but considering Max that was doubtful. Still, he'd made his decision, sitting there, sitting over his whiskey and now all that was left was to stick to it. He just wanted for her to go away, because if she stayed he might say something he'd regret, something resembling personal doubts. He'd let her get too close. He'd let himself become too comfortable, and neither close friendships nor comfort were considered a good thing. He needed to gain perspective, he needed to gain distance.  
  
"How's the shoulder?"  
  
His mouth quirked a little, and he stopped the glass just before it reached his lips. Nope, not getting the hint. "It'll heal," he stated simply.  
  
"So, haven't noticed you with your token blonde tonight? Something put a hitch in your game?"  
  
"Trying to quit that habit. Discovered it wasn't particularly healthy."  
  
"Give it time, and you'll be back up to par I'm sure. Time heals all wounds, as they say."  
  
"Scars fade?" okay, Max was being annoyingly dense today.  
  
"Yeah, exactly."  
  
Alec blinked slowly, an image of Rachel flashing in his mind, smiling. "Some scars never fade away." He'd let himself get too close there too, in a different way than Max, but too close all the same. What was it the Manticore teachers had said once? 'Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it?' He'd laughed at it back then, but it made sense now, and he vowed not to repeat the same mistakes.  
  
*  
Scars are souvenirs you never lose  
the past is never far  
Did you lose yourself somewhere out there?  
Did you get to be a star?   
And don't it make you sad to know  
that life is more than who we are  
Grew up way too fast, now there's nothing to believe  
and reruns all become our history  
A tired song keeps playing on a tired radio  
and I won't tell no one your name.  
*  
  
"So what did you tell Normal?"  
  
He shrugged with his good shoulder. "It seems a bunch of guys were pretty unhappy with some of my Monty Cora fights and they jumped me. He bought it."  
  
'Please go away Max,' he thought. He didn't want to be the one screwing up her life. She'd come so close to losing everything she cared about, all because of him. Logan's life could easily have been extinguished through his careless actions. Max knew how to keep her nose clean, mostly.  
  
What was the other saying he'd always laughed at? Oh yeah. 'You always hurt the ones you love.' Okay, so maybe love wasn't the right word for his relationship for Max, but the theory still applied. Funny, he'd always found Common Verbal Usage a waste of time, but now the saying he'd always found trite made a startling amount of sense.  
  
"Alec, are you all right?" He chuckled then, a grunt into his glass. No, he was most decidedly NOT all right. "Stupid question I guess. You're Mr. Always-All-Right."  
  
Alec swallowed the rest of his drink, savoring the heat as it slid down his throat. Then he stood abruptly and tossed a few bills on the counter. He would cut her off, starting right now, so he could be a better friend than he was right now, in the end. He smiled, and she was struck by the hallowed nature of it. "Exactly Maxie. You get the idea. Always all right." He dropped his chin and moved past her, ascending the stairs up out of the club.  
  
If Alec thought he could push her away so easily than he was sadly mistaken. She could see right through him. The bartend slid another pitcher in front of her. Max watched him go. "So why don't I believe you?"   
  
*  
I think about you all the time  
but I don't need the same  
It's lonely where you  
come back down  
and I won't tell 'em your name.  
*  
THE END  
--  
  
Wow, I'm actually done. I'm sorry if you don't really like the ending, but I really couldn't see ending this all happy, with all they've been through. It seems like there would be things to deal with, insecurities and the like. Especially Alec. The song is Name, by the Goo Goo Dolls. I don't know, it just really seemed to fit with the mood in this last section of story.  
  
Please!!!!!!!!!! Review!!!!!!!!!! I really, really want to crack one hundred. 


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